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STEPS IN 
HUMAN PROGRESS 



BY 

CHRISTIAN D. LARSON 

AUTHOR OF "WHAT RIGHT THINKING WILL DO," 

"THE GOOD SIDE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE," 

"POISE AND POWER," ETC. 




NEW YORK 
EDWARD J. CLODE 



■L373 



COPYRIGHT, 1916 
BY EDWARD J. CLODE 



OCT 12 1916 

CI. A 4 4 5 7 7 



o 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Steps to the Higher Self 1 

Steps to Higher Truths 47 

Steps to the Spiritual 93 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 




Steps in Human Progress 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

N the presence of modern thought 
and aspiration what may we 
consider the greatest, the wor- 
thiest, the most important and 
the most inspiring thing that man can 
do. This is one of the leading ques- 
tions of today, and we are face to face 
with a new answer, an answer that has 
never been given before. In the fields 
of invention, art, discovery, music, litera- 
ture, industrial achievement and special 
mental attainment, man has accomplished 
much, and he will, in all these fields, 
accomplish vastly more. But there is 
another field, the most important that 

[3] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

was ever known, which we are about to 
enter; and it is in this new field that 
man will do his greatest work — work, 
indeed, that will cause the wonder works 
of history to pale into utter insignificance. 

The age of real wonders has just 
begun. The next one hundred years will 
witness achievements so extraordinary that 
the terms "marvelous" and "miraculous" 
will not begin to describe them. Every- 
thing that the master minds of today are 
dreaming about will be realized, and 
infinitely more. Even much of what can 
now be discerned in the light of the 
soul's vision will come to pass, and 
hundreds of worlds, as yet closed to the 
minds of the many, will open their limit- 
less possibilities to the race. Accordingly, 
the welfare, the happiness and the progress 
of man will be promoted as never before. 
All these things, however, will simply 
mark the continuation of lines of progress 
already in action; they will naturally 

[4] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

follow the further development of fields 
that are well known, and therefore will 
not necessarily be the result of a new 
step in advancement. But man is on 
the verge of a new step. Among all the 
known wonders there is a new wonder, 
far greater than all the others, just appear- 
ing at the dawn of the new day, and it 
heralds the next step in the progress of 
the world. 

Thus far human attainments and 
achievements have concerned themselves 
principally with things, and with those 
mental faculties that act directly upon 
things; and the reason why is found in 
the fact that we have understood only 
those forces in man that can be applied 
to things. But the coming of modern 
metaphysics and the new psychology has 
opened our minds to the consciousness 
and the understanding of other forces — 
higher and more powerful forces — forces 
that can be applied to elements that are 

[5] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

above things, in brief, the creative ele- 
ments within man himself. In the past, 
the various steps in progress have been 
taken in those worlds that lie outside of 
the being of man; but the next step will 
be taken in those worlds that lie within 
the being of man. The next step in 
human progress will be to gain complete 
mastery over the creative forces and the 
creative elements within the human per- 
sonality so that we can transform our 
interior nature and our personal appear- 
ance into what may be termed an Edition 
de Luxe of man. 

Men and women are something like 
books — all kinds of editions, all styles 
of binding and every imaginable subject 
introduced in the contents; but there is 
one difference. Among books we find 
editions that have quality, richness and 
worth, both as to contents and general 
appearance. The subject matter in some 
of these books constitutes the very essence 

[6] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

of inspirational power, while the physical 
appearance is all that high art can cause 
it to be. Among people, however, it is 
almost impossible to find rich interior 
quality and rare personal appearance com- 
bined in the same person. The finest 
characters and the greatest minds do not 
always dwell in beautiful personalities, 
while persons who are exceptionally attrac- 
tive to physical sight do not always possess 
unlimited riches of mind and soul. True, 
there are exceptions to all general rules; 
but the fact remains that Editions de 
Luxe of the being of man have not as yet 
appeared. However, if we can have Edi- 
tions de Luxe of books we can have Edi- 
tions de Luxe of men and women. Man 
has the inherent power to do far more 
with himself than he ever did with things; 
and the next step in his progress is to 
learn how. 

When we look at the human family we 
find any number of paper editions, cheap 

[7] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

cloth editions and the like; although 
occasionally we find a few that approach 
something far better, and it is the psy- 
chological study of the creative elements 
that are active in the personal natures of 
these few that has given us the secret to 
the next step in human progress. What 
one person can do, all can learn to do; 
what a few have accomplished more or 
less unconsciously, all can learn to accom- 
plish consciously and intelligently. And 
where unconscious action has, under favor- 
able conditions, produced results to a 
certain degree, intelligent action can, under 
any condition, produce results to the very 
highest degree. This is the law, and no 
law in life can ever fail when properly 
applied. 

The reason why people who are ex- 
tremely attractive physically are not 
always competent mentally or highly de- 
veloped spiritually, is readily explained. 
When the creative process in the human 

[8] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

system tends to build up and perfect the 
outer personality, nearly all the energy 
generated in the system will be used for 
that purpose, and in consequence there 
will be but a fraction remaining with 
which to build up mind and soul. In like 
manner, when the creative process tends 
to produce mental brilliancy, most of the 
energy of the system will be drawn into 
the mind, and the development of the 
physical personality will necessarily be 
retarded. In some people we find this 
energy dividing itself into several forces, 
one of which tends to build up the per- 
sonality, while the other tends to develop 
the various phases of mind, character and 
soul. And this is the ideal arrangement; 
therefore people who are built on these 
lines, are always attractive in body, bril- 
liant in mind, strong in character and 
beautiful in soul; that is, if they are well 
supplied with energy and do not waste 
their forces in any form or manner. 

[9] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

When the creative energies of the system 
naturally divide themselves among the 
various factors in human life, the greatest 
possible results are not always produced 
in any one place of action; the reason 
being that in the average person most of 
the energy generated in his system is 
wasted; and if what remains is to be 
divided among several factors, the amount 
given to each will be small. There is 
enough energy, however, generated in the 
system to develop to the highest degree 
desired, everything that Exists in the 
entire being of man; therefore, when a 
person properly saves his energy and 
applies it according to the laws of human 
development, he can secure just as great 
results in all the factors of his being as is 
usually secured in but one. In fact, he 
can do far better because he will act 
consciously, and will personally control the 
laws through which results are to be 
gained. 

[10] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

When a person has learned to save all 
the forces in his system, and has learned 
to personally control the creative elements 
of his being, he can develop a more attrac- 
tive personality than was ever seen before; 
he can develop a more powerful and a 
more brilliant mind than was ever known 
before; and he can develop the very 
highest states of character and soul that 
the finest consciousness has ever discerned 
in the ideal. He can do all these things 
at the same time; he has sufficient energy 
when he saves it all; and what is so 
strongly in his favor is the great fact that 
when we develop the whole man we secure 
greater results through any one part than 
we possibly could if we developed that 
one part alone. In this connection it is 
well to remember that no chain is stronger 
than its weakest link; but when every 
link is strong — exceptionally strong — 
the strength of the whole chain will be 
great indeed. 

[11] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

There are many inspiring scenes in 
nature — scenes that lift the soul to the 
very heights of empyrean realms; but 
the most inspiring scene of all is the sight 
of a human personality that reveals, in 
visible form, all that is pure, all that is 
rich, all that is high, all that is worthy, 
all that is beautiful and all that is ideal in 
existence sublime. When we are in the 
presence of a human personality where 
"the elements are so mixed" that we feel 
as if we have met the very climax of 
workmanship divine, our thoughts of man 
cease to dwell upon earth. Man, to us, 
is no longer a mere human creature; he is 
something more, and we begin to gain 
glimpses of what can be done with that 
"something more." And as those glimpses 
reveal the possibilities that lie before us, 
we realizQ that we are beginning the study 
of the most interesting, the most profitable 
and the most fascinating theme that has 
ever presented itself to the mind of man. 

[12] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

When we meet people who express, 
even to a slight degree, the richness and 
the beauty that is inherent in human 
nature, we realize that we are in the very 
presence of the kings and queens of earth; 
and new faith is awakened within us. 
We no longer think of the human race as 
"depraved," or as "almost hopeless," 
or as "mere weaklings" of little more 
consequence than the leaf that comes with 
the wind, and with the same wind is 
blown away. We can see in man the 
Real Man; and as this Real Man appears 
before us in all his majesty and power, 
we begin to understand why "thou art 
mindful of him." We also begin to see, 
as never before, how much time and 
energy we have wasted in building up and 
tearing down useless things, while the 
greatest world of all worlds — the world 
within — has remained undeveloped and 
unexplored. 

The greatest ambition of the coming 

[13] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

day will be, not to write the best book, not 
to invent the most wonderful machine, 
not to paint the most inspiring picture, 
not to conduct the largest enterprise, not 
to amass the greatest amount of gold, but 
to develop and express the finest, the 
strongest, the most perfect, the most 
beautiful and the most inspiring per- 
sonality in the world. To have the power 
to manipulate the creative elements in the 
world of things is truly a mark of great- 
ness; but to exercise that same power 
upon the creative elements in human life 
is a mark of far greater greatness. And 
to enter this new field and develop the 
marvelous possibilities that are contained 
therein, is the next step in human progress. 

We must remember, however, that to 
enter this new field is not to neglect other 
lines of progress and achievement. You 
may write an extraordinary book, or any 
number of them, and at the same time 
build and rebuild yourself, until you 

[14] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

become an Edition de Luxe, both in human 
quality and in personal appearance. You 
may paint the most inspiring picture that 
the world has ever seen, and at the same 
time apply the divine art within your own 
being until you become the most inspiring 
living picture that the world has ever seen. 
You may conduct a great business enter- 
prise and be a power in the world of 
practical things, and at the same time so 
direct the creative elements in your own 
being that you become as rich in personal 
quality as the possessions over which you 
exercise control; as noble in bearing as 
the kingship that rules in your mind; as 
strong in personal expression as the power 
that governs your vast domain; and as 
attractive in personal appearance as the 
richly adorned mansion you call your 
home. Whatever you do, you can become 
a genius in your sphere, and reach the 
highest places in practical achievement; 
but you can, at the same time, do even 

[15] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

greater things with yourself. You can so 
rebuild and perfect your own personality 
that you become an Edition de Luxe in 
living, human form. 

The personal worth of the man should 
at least be as great as the actual worth of 
his possessions; otherwise, he is not in 
keeping with his world. And his personal 
worth should be fully expressed through 
every atom in his being. He should 
"look" it in every sense of the term. 
The woman should at least be as beautiful 
as her gowns; otherwise, she is not true 
to the matchless charms of her nature. 
But this is but the beginning for her. 
The adorner's art is as nothing compared 
with the beautifying power that is latent 
in the feminine soul. People in general 
should at least be as attractive in them- 
selves as are the houses they build or the 
surroundings in which they live. True, 
some are more attractive, but such attrac- 
tiveness is born, not made. Henceforth, 

[16] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

we must not depend on what we receive 
through heredity, but must proceed to 
make ourselves, and continue to remake 
ourselves until we become precisely what 
we wish to be. Nor is this a "mere 
dream" or a "useless desire." Man posi- 
tively can remake himself according to his 
highest ideal of himself, and to do this 
will be the next step in his progress. 

The purpose we have in mind is to 
consciously control and direct the creative 
elements in the system so as to rebuild 
the human personality according to our 
highest conception of what we personally 
should wish to be. These creative ele- 
ments can be trained to act not only upon 
that finer field of life that lies back of 
and within the personality, but also upon 
the tangible personality itself, even the 
cell-structures of the physical body. The 
use of these creative elements in furthering 
the purpose we have in view will, at first, 
result in a strong, attractive personality in 

[17] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

man, and a beautiful, charming, fascinating 
personality in woman. But this is but the 
beginning; when man learns to control 
the building power that is inherent in his 
mind, and when woman learns to control 
the beautifying power that is in her soul, 
there is no ideal in connection with the 
perfecting of the human entity that cannot 
be realized. Then every individual may 
certainly become an Edition de Luxe, and 
according to his own ideal of what such 
an edition should be. » 

This new and wonderful goal, however, 
is to be reached, not by acting upon the 
personality from without, but by unfolding 
the strong, the beautiful and the ideal 
from within. The finer elements of mind, 
thought, feeling, consciousness and soul 
are to be given predominance in every 
action and phase of life. And when these 
elements are given the first place in all 
that pertains to actual living, they tend 
to work themselves out into actual ex- 

[18] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

pression through the personality. Thus 
the personality gradually changes from a 
state of weakness and inferiority to a state 
of richness, quality and high worth. You 
no longer present a "common" personal 
appearance; the ordinary has entirely 
disappeared from your life, and you be- 
come one of the "rare products" of 
creative art divine. In other words, you 
remove the cheap binding from your 
personal appearance; you remove the 
cheap paper, page after page, from your 
nature; you insert high art illumined 
pages instead, and you have your entire 
personal self bound in de Luxe. 

Man has the power to remake himself 
and cause both his interior nature and his 
external appearance to become as far 
superior to the "average person" as the 
highly cultivated rose is superior to the 
weed. And the day is at hand to begin. 
We are now in possession of the necessary 
principles, the necessary methods and the 

[19] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

necessary facts; we are ready for this 
next step in human progress; we are ready 
to remake ourselves in the image and 
likeness of our highest ideals, and thus 
become, in the true sense of the term, 
the crowning glory of Nature's sublime 
creative art. 

The same power, the same efficiency, 
the same insight and the same genius that 
we have demonstrated in the world of 
things, we can now demonstrate in that 
world that is above things — the world of 
ideal human life; and we can cause every- 
thing that is ideal in that finer life to 
become ideal in actual, personal life. 
This finer life, and the world from which 
it springs, is within man; therefore, it 
cannot be acted upon through physical 
means; nor can it be reached through the 
channels of objective actions. To act 
upon that world subjective actions, applied 
through the elements of mind, thought, 
feeling, consciousness and soul, become 

[20] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

necessary. That world, however, is almost 
wholly undeveloped; it is virgin soil, but 
its productive capacity is limitless. Rich 
rewards, therefore, are in store for those 
who will learn to cultivate the new fields 
of that vast domain. And anyone can 
learn to begin at once. Moreover, to be 
just to ourselves and the people with 
whom we come in contact, we must learn 
to begin at once. 

The fact is that no person has the right 
to present a cheap, common, ordinary 
personal appearance to the world when he 
knows how to build in himself a superior 
personality. If we carry upon us a com- 
monplace personal appearance, we invari- 
ably produce a cheap impression upon the 
mind of every person we meet; and cheap 
impressions lead to cheap thinking and 
inferior living. It may seem somewhat 
far-fetched, but it is the truth that every 
person who presents a cheap personal 
appearance tends to draw the race down 

[21] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

into inferior thought and life. The idea, 
however, is not that every person, to 
produce good impressions upon others, 
must be elegantly dressed; dress does not 
constitute personal appearance; besides, 
it is those things that are alive — the 
living appearance — that produces the 
deepest impressions upon our minds. 
Dress as well as you possibly can; it is 
very important to do so, and remember, 
it is not the price of your clothes, but the 
way you wear them, that constitutes whole- 
some appearance. But dress is secondary; 
real personal appearance is in yourself, in 
your countenance, in your bearing, in 
your conduct, in your attitude, in your 
movements and in the general expression 
of your personal life. This being true, 
we all can have a fairly good and whole- 
some personal appearance, and when we 
learn to use the finer creative elements 
within us, this appearance may become 
extraordinary. 
[22] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

When you develop a superior person- 
ality, you become an inspiration to every 
person you meet; which fact we shall 
admit when we realize that a superior 
personality does not simply constitute a 
well-shaped physical form, but a refined, 
wholesome physical form, that is actually 
alive with the richest qualities and the 
highest states of sublime worth that can 
possibly be found in body, mind and soul. 
Shape is secondary; any shape becomes 
strong and attractive when alive with 
supreme power and high worth; and any 
shape becomes charmingly beautiful when 
animated with the very life, the very 
essence and the very soul of the beautiful. 
But the shape of any personal form can 
be so modified as to correspond exactly 
with the ideal personality we have under- 
taken to build. The human form is not 
only very plastic, but is constantly being 
reconstructed by the renewing forces in 
nature; therefore superior creative art 

[23] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

■ 

from within will find no difficulty in 
remolding the personal form according to 
the finest pattern that we may have 
selected. 

A beautiful woman, if she be truly 
beautiful in body, mind and soul, is doing 
more for the race than the richest and 
most liberal philanthropist. She is awak- 
ening those finer things in human life 
that alone can make living truly worth 
while. And every man who is in posses- 
sion of a strong, attractive, wholesome, 
spirited personality, is leading hundreds, 
possibly thousands, to greater things. 
There is nothing that is more conducive 
to greater things than a human personal- 
ity so constituted, that it tends to inspire 
in everybody a living desire to do greater 
things. And all men and women can 
exercise this inspirational power through 
their personal appearance as well as 
through their thoughts and deeds. These 
are facts, therefore it is not only what we 

[24] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

think or say or do, but also "how we 
look," that determines our value to the 
race. But personal appearance has been 
ignored, or simply dealt with in the most 
superficial manner. An attractive per- 
sonality has been looked upon as a luxury; 
now we know it to be a necessity. And 
the reason why is found in the fact that 
the power of appearance is one of the 
great powers in the world, not only in the 
life of the individual himself, but also in 
the life of every person that he may 
meet. 

The world is governed by mental im- 
pressions, and everything we meet, in 
any manner whatever, produces a mental 
impression; but those impressions we 
gain from the people we meet are the 
strongest of all, and therefore exercise the 
greatest power upon our mode of life, 
thought and action. Happy, then, is the 
man whose personality gives only impres- 
sions of the strong, the worthy, the high, 

[25] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the superior, the beautiful and the ideal 
to every person that may come his way. 

The foregoing facts prove conclusively 
that the next step in human progress is a 
necessity if we are to promote general 
progress as perfectly and as extensively 
as we would have the power to do if we 
could take advantage of all our present 
possibilities. But we cannot take ad- 
vantage of all those possibilities so long as 
we, ourselves, continue to be, in many 
respects, an "inferior product." So long 
as the human personality produces inferior 
impressions upon the mind of the masses, 
the progress of mankind in general will be 
retarded. But, on the other hand, the 
more inspiring personalities we have in 
the world, the greater will become that 
power in the world that leads upward and 
onward. And here is our opportunity. 

In taking this next step in human 
progress, however, we are not simply 
becoming benefactors. It is the individual 

[26] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

who takes this next step who will realize 
the greatest gain. To prove this we might 
mention hundreds of incontrovertible facts, 
and shall at the outset present two of 
these, though these two are by no means 
the most important. First, we know that 
a man who has a strong, wholesome, 
attractive personality can accomplish fully 
twice as much, and more, with the same 
talent as the man who is personally weak, 
spiritless or unattractive. Second, we 
know that a woman who is beautiful in 
person, sweet in disposition and lovely in 
soul, can get almost anything she may 
want in this world. And there is a reason 
why — a reason that is not based upon 
selfish love, physical desire or personal 
vanity, but a reason that can only be 
found higher up in the finer life of ideal 
soul existence. 

Should we have no other grounds upon 
which to base the value of this next step 
than the two great facts just presented, 

[27] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the subject before us would deserve all 
the time and attention that could be 
possibly given; but we are yet to look 
into the vast realms that this new step 
will open up to the mind, to the intellect, 
to the soul, to the fields of consciousness, 
to the physical senses and to all the 
faculties, functions, forces and elements in 
the entire being of man. In fact, the 
human world will be so enlarged, so 
enriched, so beautified and so perfected 
that the joy of living will be multiplied 
even hundreds of times. * 

We have found unlimited interest and 
fascination in exercising creative power in 
the world of things; we can imagine what 
our interest and fascination will be when 
we learn to exercise this creative power in 
the limitless domains of real human life; 
and also the supreme delight that we shall 
naturally enjoy when we begin to note 
results. Surely, we can think of no step 
in human progress that could add so richly 

[28] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

to the happiness and the welfare of life as 
this next step before us; we shall therefore 
proceed with more interest and with more 
pleasure than we ever knew before. 

To proceed, begin in the beginning; 
and the first essential is to picture in your 
mind your ideal of yourself. Then con- 
tinue to see this ideal picture, no matter 
what external circumstances or conditions 
may be. You will daily grow more and 
more into the likeness of that picture until 
you become in the real what you have 
seen in the ideal. And the reason why is 
found in the fact that the energies of the 
system invariably select your predominat- 
ing thought, or leading mental picture, as 
the pattern for their work. What you 
habitually think of yourself is your pre- 
dominating thought of yourself; and it is 
this thought that your creative energies 
use as their model in building and rebuild- 
ing you. Therefore, when you improve 
your thought of yourself by picturing in 

[29] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

your mind your highest ideal of yourself, 
your creative energies will have an im- 
proved model, and will, in consequence, 
begin to rebuild you according to the 
likeness of this new and better model. 
This is the basic principle in all human 
advancement, and there is absolutely no 
limit to its possibility and power. And as 
it is very easily applied by anyone, there 
is no reason why we all should not make a 
beginning now that will culminate in far 
greater results than we ever dreamed. 

To picture in your mind that ideal of 
yourself that you wish to realize in per- 
sonal form, it is necessary to incorporate 
in that picture every ideal quality that 
you can think of. The imagination 
governs completely all the creative forces 
of the system; therefore the imaging 
faculty must be trained to picture only 
those qualities and conditions that you 
wish to express in the new and improved 
personality. 

[30] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

To give all these ideal pictures predomi- 
nance in consciousness, live in the con- 
sciousness of every ideal quality that you 
have begun to picture. This will so 
deepen the ideal in your life that all the 
elements of the ideal will become living 
elements throughout your being. You thus 
cause ideal qualities to become actual parts 
of your personality, and as you continue, 
you personally will be composed entirely 
of such qualities. When this is accom- 
plished, you will have eliminated the cheap 
and the inferior from your personality, and 
the very cells in your body will have 
become as rich in texture as the petals of 
the highly cultivated rose. 

When you have clearly formed in mind 
a complete picture of the new personality 
that you have begun to build, that is, 
when you can distinctly see yourself as 
you would actually appear after you had 
become an Edition de Luxe in human 
form, live with a deep, constant desire to 

[31] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

build and express such a personality. 
What you constantly desire to do, you 
will inspire your creative energies to do, 
but this desire must be so deep and so 
strong that it becomes, not only a per- 
manent power, but a ruling power in your 
life. The entire system must continue in 
perfect health and in perfect harmony. 
When the health is not perfect, the natural 
building processes of the system are inter- 
fered with, and it is not possible to build 
the strong, the beautiful and the ideal 
without perfect harmony. 

To eliminate all adverse mental states 
is one of the first essentials; the reason 
being that everything that is taking place 
in the human system is more or less 
affected by the states of mind. Anger 
wastes energy and invariably tends to 
produce a mean expression. But you will 
need all the energy you possess if you wish 
to remake yourself; and if you wish to 
produce in your personality a superior 

[32] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

expression, all your expressions, even the 
slightest, must be of the very best. Worry 
dries up the cells and produces old-age 
conditions as well as those "dried up" 
conditions that are so detrimental to 
health, youth, vigor and personal charm. 
Every dried-up cell is a dead cell, and 
every dead cell adds so much more to 
personal weakness and personal inferiority. 
Fear retards natural and full expression; 
it also produces negative conditions and 
weakens the entire personality. No one 
can develop a strong, powerful, attractive 
personality until he has overcome fear, 
because every action of fear is an action of 
retreat; it moves to the rear; it gives up 
and drifts further and further back toward 
nothingness. The way to strength, power 
and higher development of every descrip- 
tion, however, leads forward and forward 
continually. It is therefore most evident 
that no person can take the next step in 
human progress until anger, fear and worry 

[33] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

have been removed from his life absolutely. 
But this is not impossible. Anger, fear 
and worry can be eliminated completely 
by anyone without any difficulty whatever. 

Among other mental states that must 
be removed, we find grief, disappointment, 
discouragement, excitability, moroseness, 
the negative attitude, the critical attitude, 
the antagonistic attitude and states and 
attitudes of a similar nature. Cultivate 
the opposite states in every case, and the 
adverse ones will disappear. Live in per- 
petual sunshine; in fact, be sunshine; be 
the very spirit of joy, as there is nothing 
that is more conducive to the purpose you 
have in view than real, whole-hearted joy. 
Live in perpetual happiness, and inwardly 
feel the fullness of unbounded joy. And 
you can, when you learn to look at life 
from the proper point of view. 

Another great essential is to love with 
every fiber of your being. The power of 
love is a great building power, provided 

[34] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

it is love — the love that loves because 
it is love, and not because it wants some- 
thing in return. Love that demands rec- 
ompense or reward is not love; it is a 
misuse of the forces of mind, and therefore 
an obstacle in the way of greater things. 
Love with the love that wants to love; 
love all things with such a love, and with 
every fiber in your being; you thus, not 
only arouse the finest creative elements in 
your system, but you direct those elements 
to build in yourself the strong, the beauti- 
ful and the ideal. 

The rebuilding of your personality must 
be carried out from within; the interior 
life must be reconstructed according to the 
ideal before the ideal can be made real in 
the external personality; and since the 
interior life is almost entirely controlled 
by the power of feeling, it is necessary that 
you train yourself to deeply feel every 
quality, condition or force that you wish 
to express. In the last analysis "you look 

[35] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the way you feel," and the way you feel 
depends upon what you imagine concern- 
ing yourself and what you habitually and 
subconsciously think about yourself. So 
long as you habitually and subconsciously 
feel ordinary, you will look ordinary; but 
as soon as you have trained your deeper 
feelings to feel the richness, the worth and 
the superiority of your true being, you will 
begin to express superiority and high 
worth in your personal appearance. 

Continue to feel mean, ugly, miserable 
or disgusted, and you will finally look 
these things. Continue to feel disagreeable 
every hour for a year, or even less, and 
you will not only look disagreeable, but 
you will become personally repulsive. 
These are well-known facts; but the law 
works both ways. Continue to feel within 
yourself all those qualities that naturally 
attract admiration, and you will become 
so attractive, first in your nature and then 
also in your personality, that you will 

[36] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

attract the admiration of every person 
you meet. Continue to feel any desirable 
quality, and that quality will become a 
living power in your nature. Later it 
will express itself in your personality, and 
you will look what you feel. This feeling, 
however, must be continuous; it must 
become habitual and subconscious, and 
must be thoroughly alive every hour. 

Continue to feel life, power, purity, 
refinement, sweetness and loveliness, and 
these qualities will be expressed more and 
more in your personality. By feeling these 
things you cause them to become living 
forces in your interior life; and whatever 
is made alive and built up in the life 
within, will at once begin to work itself 
out and build itself into the external 
personality. You thus, through the ele- 
ments of deep feeling, cause the ideal to 
actually become real; or, in other words, 
you cause the possibilities within to become 
living factors in the without. 

[37] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

To cultivate this high art of feeling in 
the within that you wish to express and 
build up in the without, live in the con- 
sciousness of the ideal and constantly 
feel the fullness of the ideal. When you 
feel the interior fullness of a quality you 
develop that quality, and the development 
will be similar in every respect to the ideal 
that animates what you feel. At first, 
special attention must be given to the 
continuous feeling of every quality that 
you wish to develop in your nature and 
in your personality; but gradually, as 
every feeling becomes subconscious, it will 
be second nature for you to feel the way 
you want to feel; and when you feel the 
way you want to feel you will look the 
way you want to look. 

To apply the principle of feeling to the 
best advantage, the man should live in the 
consciousness of strength, power, capacity, 
quality and worth; and the woman should 
live in the consciousness of purity, refine- 

[38] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

ment, beauty, loveliness and soul. Con- 
tinue to feel inwardly the beautiful, and 
the beautiful will unfold itself in every 
atom in your being. Continue to feel the 
thrill of loveliness, fascination and personal 
charm in every fiber of your being, and 
you will not only become charmingly 
beautiful in personal appearance, but you 
will also gain that irresistible fascination 
that all the world admires so much in the 
truly developed feminine soul. Train your- 
self to feel refined, and you will express 
refinement in life, thought, speech, action 
and outward appearance. Train yourself 
to feel the sweetness of your ideal feminine 
nature, and you will become, in body, 
mind and soul, all that the term "human 
sweetness" can possibly imply. 

Continue to inwardly feel strong and 
you develop a strong, attractive, masterful 
personality. Continue to feel in the within 
the fullness of strength and power, but do 
not permit this strong feeling to become 

[39] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

i i i i - — 

overwrought or aroused beyond your abso- 
lute control. Be calm and poised while 
masterful and strong. Feel inwardly calm 
and inwardly strong, and you have the 
secret. 

To continue to possess a personality 
that may rightly be termed an Edition de 
Luxe in human form, it is necessary to 
perfect such a personality more and more 
so long as we remain in personal existence. 
When we cease to promote progression we 
return to the ways of retrogression. An 
ideal personality can come only from an 
ideal life that is inwardly, actually and 
continually lived. When we cease to in- 
wardly live the ideal and outwardly apply 
the ideal, our personal charms will begin 
to fade away. But those charms, when 
once gained, can be retained as long as we 
live, provided we continue to live charm- 
ingly, and continue to develop more and 
more every ideal quality that may exist in 
our nature. 

[40] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

You will never lose your strength or 
your power so long as you live to gain 
more and more strength and power. You 
will never lose your beauty, your loveli- 
ness or your sweetness so long as you 
live to become sweeter, more lovely 
and more beautiful than you ever were 
before. 

The principles, methods and ideas pre- 
sented in the preceding pages constitute 
the bridge, so to speak, over which we 
may pass into that new and vast domain 
where we may begin the next step in 
human progress; and having entered this 
domain, we are ready to take possession 
of the finer creative elements in the 
wonderful being of man, and direct those 
elements in such a manner as to produce 
any desired results in any special part of 
this new field. To begin, subjective con- 
centration becomes the practical instru- 
ment through which these finer creative 
forces may be successfully applied; and 

[41] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

we shall appreciate the great value of this 
instrument when we learn what can be 
accomplished through its scientific use. 

Concentrate subjectively — in deep feel- 
ing — upon any part of the body, and 
you change the form of that part of the 
body to correspond with the ideal you 
clearly hold in mind during the concentra- 
tion. This is a scientific fact, and one of 
the most important that this age has 
produced. You can prove it yourself. If 
there is a certain part of your face that 
you desire to have filled but, concentrate 
subjectively upon that part for a few 
minutes every hour, and in a few weeks 
you will note the desired change. You 
can do the same with any part of your 
body, because, through subjective con- 
centration, you gain control of the finer 
creative elements of your system — those 
elements that are within and back of the 
cell structures, and that can produce any 
amount of new or improved cell structure 

[42] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

as desired. Through subjective concentra- 
tion you can not only modify the shape 
and the form of the body and build for 
yourself a more beautiful body, but you 
can also improve the quality of every 
fiber in your system; that is, you can 
increase or decrease the number of cells 
in any part and also change the fineness of 
those cells, just as the horticulturist de- 
velops a common-looking group of leaves 
into a most beautiful and highly cultivated 
flower. 

Concentrate subjectively upon any 
quality in your nature, and you increase 
the power as well as the worth of that 
quality. And here we have a method 
through which any person can entirely 
change, for the better, his nature, his 
disposition, his character and his entire 
mentality. Concentrate subjectively upon 
any force in your system, and you not 
only increase the active power of that 
force, but you gain perfect control over 

[43] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the force itself, as well as its sphere of 
action. Concentrate subjectively upon 
any mental faculty or talent, and you 
awaken the- real, interior power of 
that talent — that power that produces 
genius. 

Concentrate subjectively upon any phase 
of consciousness, and you expand that 
consciousness continuously until you be- 
come conscious of worlds, realms and 
domains that you never dreamed of before. 
In brief, through subjective concentration, 
we may gain control of all the elements 
and forces that exist in the vastness of 
human life, and direct those elements in 
the re-making of ourselves according to our 
highest ideal. But this concentration is 
not the mere holding of attention here or 
there as we may elect. Subjective con- 
centration is a special art — a very high 
art, and a most extensive art; it is the 
entering into the real essence of all sub- 
stance and all force; it is the conveyance 

[44] 



STEPS TO THE HIGHER SELF 

of a mental state or an ideal condition to 
any special part anywhere in the human 
system; it is the living of the superior in 
that part where you wish the superior to be 
expressed. 



[45] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 




STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

[HEN we proceed to consider what 
we know about the highest truth 
conceivable in our present state 
of development, we shall meet a 
very great paradox, and we shall also meet 
the reverse of this truth; that is, what we 
may term the only real sin possible to the 
human ego — the coming down from the 
perfect consciousness of this highest truth, 
which would constitute the great fall. 
And when we inquire to what this highest 
truth has reference, our answer must be 
that it is the truth concerning the most 
sublime principle of which we are con- 
scious; and this can be nothing less than 
our own real or supreme self. 

We understand that we may know 
many things concerning the external, but 
we may naturally know more about our 

[49] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

own innermost nature than anything else 
that may have existence in the universe. 
Therefore, this highest truth necessarily 
declares something definite concerning our 
innermost or supreme self; and when this 
highest truth reveals itself we discover 
that the real or eternal self, that is, the 
soul or spirit of man, is now in possession 
of what we may term the All in All, and 
accordingly, has no needs or requirements 
whatever. 

When we consider life in the external 
we find that existence has seemingly many 
needs and requirements; but we find that 
the spirit of man, the real eternal you, 
does not need anything whatever, being 
supplied abundantly with the All in All. 
Accordingly, the soul of man can, in 
justice and truth, ask for nothing, pray 
for nothing, desire nothing, hope for 
nothing, because the soul does have every- 
thing— "All that the Father hath is 
mine." 

[50] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

However we may consider the life of the 
individual, the needs of the personal man, 
or the requirements of the human phases 
of existence, we come invariably to the 
conclusion that everything that the per- 
sonal or human side of life can possibly 
desire or require does, even now, exist in 
the human soul. The great kingdom has 
been given to man. The eternal I Am is 
in itself sufficient unto itself — having all 
life, all wisdom, all power, all joy, and is 
complete, perfect, and finished in the larg- 
est and highest significance of those terms. 

When we consider this great truth, 
admittedly the highest truth that we can 
discern at the present time, we will, if our 
analysis be complete, meet the reverse; 
that is, the ignoring of this truth, which 
would involve the desire of the ego to 
seek for things in the external. And here 
is where we find the original sin, or the 
fall of man — going out or down into 
the external for anything whatever, when 

[51] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the soul or, the spirit is already in posses- 
sion of everything heart could wish for, or 
that the most perfect states of life 
might require. 

Realizing the great truth that the 
human spirit, or the I Am, has everything 
needful for eternity, then we understand 
that if the Human Ego goes out into the 
external in search of pleasure, or wisdom, 
or power, or possessions, or help, or any- 
thing whatever, the Ego falls; and this is 
the only fall, the original fall, or the origi- 
nal sin of which we have Heard so much 
during centuries past. 

In the last analysis, there is only one 
sin possible to the Human Ego, and only 
one real mistake that the human entity 
can possibly make; and that sin is to 
leave the marvels and the riches of the 
spirit, wherein everything may be found — 
to leave the joys of the kingdom and the 
glories of the heaven within, and go out in 
search of lesser things. 

[52] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

Thus we must come inevitably to the 
conclusion that whenever we seek pleasure, 
or wisdom, or power directly and exclu- 
sively in or through external sources, we 
are committing again the original sin — 
we are repeating once more the great 
fall. And here is where we meet the great 
paradox; that is, what we should do with 
external things; if we should seek any- 
thing in the external; or try to enjoy any 
phase of existence that may appear on 
the outside of spiritual consciousness. 

The great problem is this, if the soul in 
its glorified state always is in full posses- 
sion of the Great Good, why should we 
seek anything whatever in the external. 
Why should we care for anything existing 
upon the outside. Indeed, could this be 
right under any circumstance. And how 
would it be possible to seek external joys, 
external wisdom and power, or anything 
that might seem of value in the external — 
how would it be possible to seek those 

[53] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

things if the mere going out in search of 
them would constitute a sin or a fall? 
This is the great paradox, a seeming 
contradiction of the highest truth. 

Turning our attention to an expression 
that reveals much light in this connection, 
we may quote a familiar statement, which 
declares, " Whenever you come to a place 
in supreme spiritual consciousness where 
you actually know that you are in need of 
nothing whatever, then you will find that 
everything in external life will begin to 
come into your world from every source 
conceivable." 

There are a great many enlightened and 
powerful souls that have applied the 
principle of this law; and it proves itself 
invariably; but it is only the enlightened 
that can understand the reason why. 

Considering another phase of the same 
idea, we realize that so long as we are 
going out, here and there, in search of 
what we need or desire, we are not true 

[54] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

to ourselves; that is, we are not true to 
our highest and best self — that highest 
and best self that does possess everything 
we need. Briefly stated, we step down 
from our lofty position whenever we seek 
anything in the external; and accordingly, 
we become confused and lose our power. 
Therefore, whatever we may try to secure 
under such a circumstance, we shall fail, 
or at best we shall secure only fragments; 
and what comes into life through a mere 
attempt to search in the external for the 
needs of life will neither give real joy nor 
higher power. 

This explains why the multitudes are 
never satisfied, because if they do not 
have what they want they are dissatisfied, 
and when they do receive what they 
thought they wanted, they are, in like 
manner, dissatisfied, because what they 
do receive under such a circumstance is 
but a fragment of the All in All. The 
soul, however, must be filled with the 

[55] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

highest and best, and must be conscious 
of the All in All, if real joy is to obtain; 
and as the soul does possess inherently the 
All in All, being sufficient unto itself, we 
can readily imagine how we violate all the 
laws of life when we go out into the 
external in search of anything whatever. 

Another great truth, or a vital phase of 
the same highest truth, is this, that so 
long as we retain our lofty position, 
realizing that we have everything, being 
all sufficient, having need of nothing from 
any source, and being so complete in 
ourselves, in our real supreme self, that 
we do not even need the universe, but 
could abide in serenity and perfection even 
though the universe should disappear — 
when we continue in that sublime realiza- 
tion, we establish ourselves in the very 
midst of the greatest power that the soul 
can possibly exercise. Indeed, at such a 
time consciousness lives and moves and 
has its being in the very center of the 

[56] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

Great Life, in the very light of the Great 
Wisdom and at the very heart of Limitless 
Power. Accordingly, the I Am, at such a 
time, is related perfectly to the Infinite, to 
the cosmos and to the entire world of 
things; that is, the I Am has its hold, so 
to speak, upon the entire situation, and 
can, not only master everything within 
its own world, but functions from that 
divine center of consciousness in supreme 
existence toward which the All-Good is 
moving eternally. 

To state it differently, when you ascend 
to that supreme state of consciousness 
where you know that you have all things, 
including all power, you come into posses- 
sion of the power to bring to yourself any- 
thing whatsoever, if you should so wish 
or desire. 

When we appreciate this highest truth 
to the fullest degree, we shall indeed 
inquire again and again what we are to do 
with external things. But the problem is 

[57] 



\/l 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

readily solved because the question is, not 
whether we are to ignore the external or 
to try to adapt ourselves to the external 
according to the light of this highest 
truth — these are not the questions in- 
volved; but the question is, whether we 
are to consider the external as of first 
importance, or look upon the manifested 
universe as something that is not abso- 
lutely necessary to our real existence, but 
that is a coming forth into external 
appearance of the All in All, the full 
possession of which we now have, and 
always will have for all eternity. 

To use another expression, external 
things are not necessary to our happiness 
or wisdom or power any more than the 
rays from the sun are necessary to the ex- 
istence of the sun; but because of the 
existence of the sun, the rays will continue 
to come forth perpetually; and in the 
same manner, because of the existence of 
the All in All in the soul and in the 

[58] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

spiritual world, the manifestation of things 
will continue perpetually; and we can 
enjoy them as an expression, just as a 
genius enjoys his work, although knowing 
that his work is simply the result of what 
he is in himself, and of what he is doing 
with what he does possess within himself. 
When we consider the element of happi- 
ness, which has been described as the 
highest good, we learn that we never find 
happiness if we go in search of happiness 
itself. True, we may find a few mo- 
mentary pleasures through such a search; 
but those pleasures invariably produce 
undesirable reactions. The truth is, that 
we find happiness, not by seeking happi- 
ness directly, but by doing something that 
will result in happiness; and in all our 
doing, that is, if we wish to exercise our 
highest and greatest power in whatever 
we do, we must ascend to the conscious- 
ness of the Great Power existing in the 
soul. Therefore, by reasoning correctly, 

[59] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

we understand that if we would live and 
work in the consciousness of the highest 
power of the soul, we would naturally 
produce those activities in consciousness 
that would result in the greatest happiness. 
In other words, the greatest happiness 
comes from the greatest work; and the 
greatest work is possible only in the con- 
sciousness of the greatest power — the 
power that we exercise and apply when 
we live and think in the realization of the 
great truth that the soul now is in posses- 
sion of the All in All. 
I We may consider all forms of conditions 
and things, and we invariably find that 
they prove unsatisfactory so long as we 
go in search of them directly; that is, by 
seeking things in the external that we 
imagine may minister to our needs, we 
never find more than fragments; and the 
personal mind is half starved most of the 
time. However, when we remain in our 
lofty position, realizing that the soul is 
[60] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

all-sufficient, having no need whatever — 
"All that the Father hath is mine" — 
then we discover that all kinds of desir- 
able conditions, things, environments and 
situations begin to aggregate in our world 
— not because we need them absolutely, 
but because we invariably produce the 
aggregation of desirable conditions and 
things in the without whenever we begin 
to dwell in the consciousness of their 
spiritual correspondents within. In other 
words, while we are deeply conscious of 
the All in All within, we will attract the 
all-good from all sources in the without. 
Thus we explain the great mystery; that 
is, why the soul in its lofty position, 
where it feels that it has need of nothing, 
begins to draw towards itself everything. 
To state the same truth in a different 
manner, we may emphasize the statement 
that when we enter that place in spiritual 
consciousness where we find everything, 
and where we find everything in its true 

[61] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

and perfect position — when we live in 
that place we find that external conditions 
and things will begin to readjust them- 
selves on every hand, working themselves 
out right, transforming themselves in every 
form and manner so as to harmonize, in 
their external state, with the perfect 
harmony and right position of what we 
have become conscious of, in that sublime 
state in the soul, where all is always well. 

Here we discover how we create for 
ourselves a new heaven and a new earth, 
and how all things become new in the 
external when we have realized that 
which is forever new in the sublime within; 
that is, when we find the real heaven 
within, or become conscious of the newest 
and the highest states of being that we 
can realize in our present state of develop- 
ment, we observe that all external condi- 
tions will change to correspond; and thus 
we have a new earth — an external life 
as ideal and as perfect in the external as 

[62] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

the new heaven is in the realms of inte- 
rior consciousness. Furthermore, when we 
arise to this lofty state and assume our 
true position, which is to be conscious 
eternally of the supreme self, the Human 
Ego will again place itself in the midst of 
the Great Power — the Power that can 
do anything in the within or in the 
without — cause all things to rearrange 
themselves harmoniously, beautifully and 
perfectly to correspond with the perfect 
vision of the soul. 

When we look upon the world in the 
without, we observe that vast multitudes 
are constantly looking in the external for 
what they think they need, never find- 
ing what satisfies, or coming in contact 
with what they describe as "the real 
thing." And the reason is, that the Hu- 
man Ego in each one has stepped down, 
committed the original sin, searching in 
the without for that which we already pos- 
sess in the within, and has repeated again 

[63] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

and again the great fall. Thus every indi- 
vidual has, for the time being, lost the 
great power, come down from the lofty 
position of spiritual consciousness, and is 
to that degree out of place, out of tune and 
out of harmony, more or less, with every- 
thing and everybody. Thus multitudes go 
through the world dissatisfied and heart 
hungry — miserable creatures physically 
and mentally, never finding exactly what 
they desire, and always dreaming of some 
future time when all needs shall be sup- 
plied and all wrongs shall be righted. 

This is the condition of vast multitudes; 
but how readily they could change their 
condition — how soon they could abso- 
lutely transform their personal life and 
their entire world of manifestation, chang- 
ing everything, causing everything to 
become as they wish it to be; for in- 
deed, the very moment they would arise 
and re-establish themselves in their true 
position, in the full consciousness of this 

[64] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

highest truth, they would know that we 
have the All in All now — that the All in 
All does exist in the spiritual life of every 
individual this moment and forever; and 
that we all may live in the spiritual, 
should continually live in the spiritual, 
upon the heights of supreme consciousness, 
in the realization of the limitlessness 
inheritance of the Supreme Self. 

When we understand these things we 
realize the uselessness of working so hard 
to change conditions and environments in 
the external, as many do, literally working 
the body to death in order to produce 
certain external conditions that we imagine 
to be desirable — wearing life away in 
producing conditions which in the end 
prove themselves to be entirely inadequate 
to the real needs of the real man. We 
understand clearly how useless it is to 
pursue such a course when the eternal I 
Am, the spirit of man, already is in 
possession of the All in All, being sufficient 

[65] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

unto itself, having its true being in that 
lofty state where the soul has received 
the kingdom — where we fully realize the 
largest and highest significance of the 
great statement, "All that the Father 
hath is mine." 

When we proceed to apply in practical 
life the principle of this highest truth, we 
may in the beginning inquire whether or 
not we can accept that principle in full, 
when we see on every hand in the visible 
world the lack of things needful, as well 
as any number of unrealized ideals; and 
the answer is, that so long as we continue 
to live down among things, expecting to 
secure what we desire through the search 
of things, we shall not be able to appre- 
ciate the real meaning of this highest 
truth. But the moment we arise to that 
lofty position of the spirit wherein we 
know "what God has prepared for them 
that love Him," we find ourselves in the 
very midst of the great light of this truth, 

[66] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

and in consequence we can say, in all 
conviction and sincerity, "I have every- 
thing." 

Whenever we have made efforts in the 
past to cause consciousness to transcend 
the temporal and enter into the light of 
the spiritual, we have met with experiences 
of a very striking nature; that is, so long 
as we lived down in the temporal, or in 
that state of material consciousness that 
has been described as "this world," we 
were constantly confronted with what we 
might term the awfulness of adversity, 
trouble and wrong; and upon many 
instances seemed so engulfed in confusion 
that we did not know where to turn; 
and all of those distressing conditions 
seemed, not only very real, but seemed to 
combine sufficient power to overcome us 
completely. However, when we began to 
look up towards the lofty places, and 
began to lift the mind, causing conscious- 
ness to rise more and more until we found 

[67] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

ourselves upon the heights of the spiritual 
— when we found ourselves in that posi- 
tion, we realized that adversity had be- 
come so insignificant as to mean practically 
nothing. Trouble and sorrow had van- 
ished into the distance and was scarcely 
discernible any more, while confusion and 
darkness had completely disappeared be- 
neath the glory and the light in which we 
now were living, moving and having our 
being. 

We all have had experiences of this 
kind, illustrating how real adversity and 
confusion seems to be while we are down 
among things; and how insignificant 
trouble, evil and wrong become when we 
permit the soul to take wings and ascend 
to the loftier heights. In other words, 
while we are down among things, we do 
not seem to have anything that is satis- 
factory, and mostly everything seems to 
be against us; but when we transcend 
"this world" and enter the light of the 

[68] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

spirit, then everything changes. We find 
ourselves in possession of everything that 
we wanted — we are conscious of the 
fullness of the all-good; and instead of 
conditions being against us, everything 
is for us, coming more and more into our 
world, bringing from every source the spirit 
and truth of the heart's desire. 

Considering this experience we may 
justly inquire as to its real significance, 
whether or not it is a demonstration of 
the law, or merely a seeming change for 
the better due to a change of attitude; 
and it may seem to be the latter at times; 
that is, we may enter into a state of mind 
wherein everything seems better, although 
in the world of hard cold facts there may 
be no change whatever; and this may be 
true at times and for a period; but we 
all shall discover most positively that even 
the hard cold facts of the practical world 
will respond and change absolutely pro- 
vided we continue to live upon the 

[69] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

spiritual heights, and continue to affirm 
this highest truth that we have everything 
now — that we have the all in all, being 
sufficient unto ourselves, created as we 
are in the image of the Supreme, and 
having in our possession the riches of the 
Infinite. 

We shall find, through actual demon- 
stration, that so long as we maintain our 
lofty position in the spiritual consciousness 
of this highest truth, never under any 
circumstance coming down, or giving way 
to any seeming contradiction of this truth 
— so long as we continue in that lofty 
position, we will gradually and surely 
cause everything, both in the without and 
in the within, to change more and more 
until our entire world, visible and invis- 
ible, tangible and intangible, has become 
exactly similar to our own sublime reali- 
zation of truth. 

Approaching again the great paradox — 
when you realize in spiritual consciousness 

[70] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

that you have everything, and therefore 
need not go in search of anything, it is 
then that everything that you have ever 
desired, or wished for, or asked for, will 
come to you in boundless supply from 
every source — when we consider this 
paradox from other viewpoints, we. may 
well ask ourselves, "Why should it be 
necessary for everything to come to us 
that we might have desired in the past 
when we have become conscious of that 
sublime state of being where we feel that 
we are not in need of anything?" This, 
however, is something that we can under- 
stand only as we become spiritually con- 
scious, and discern clearly the true 
relationship between that which remains 
forever in the absolute, and that which is 
forever coming forth into manifestation. 

In reality the soul or the spirit is not in 
need of things; and therefore if we wish 
to live in perfect harmony with the life 
of the soul, we must not think it necessary 

[71] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

to go in search of things in order to secure 
pleasure, wisdom or power. But aside 
from this great truth, the soul, when 
living its full life, will give expression to 
its own joy, to its own wisdom, to its own 
power; and all such expressions will find 
manifestation through those external things 
that correspond to the life and the ideals 
of the soul. 

Again, the soul is sufficient unto itself 
in every form and manner; and yet it is 
not the purpose of the soul simply to live 
merely in the consciousness of that state 
of all-sufficiency. It is also the purpose 
of the soul to bring forth, in ever-increasing 
measure, the elements and qualities of that 
state of all-sufficiency; and this bringing 
forth will cause life in the personality to 
be related to the world of things, and 
related harmoniously in proportion to the 
perfection of our consciousness of this 
all-sufficiency of the soul. 

To state it differently, if we are only 

[72] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

partially conscious of the all-sufficiency of 
the soul, we will be harmoniously related 
to the world of things only in isolated 
places, while more or less at variance with 
the larger part of the visible world; but 
as we grow in the consciousness of this 
all-sufficiency of the soul, we will manifest 
more and more of the life and wisdom and 
power of the soul, and thereby cause a 
larger measure of the world of things to be 
related harmoniously to our own personal 
existence. To use a kindred expression, 
the more of the harmony of the soul we 
become conscious of, the more harmony 
we will establish in our own world of 
things; and also the more of the fullness 
of the life of the soul we become conscious 
of, the more of the good and the true and 
the perfect will we realize in the outer 
world of things, proving the law that 
external things, as they exist or act in our 
personal world, will correspond exactly with 
our state of consciousness in the within. 

[73] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

It may require much deep thought to 
discern the significance of this analysis; 
but if we look upon external things as 
merely channels for expression, and never 
think of things as absolute necessities to 
the real life of the soul, we will understand 
more perfectly the meaning of this highest 
truth. To use a simple illustration: We 
cannot find real pleasure among things 
provided we seek such pleasure among 
things exclusively, being at the time 
unconscious of the real joy of the soul; 
but when we become conscious of the real 
joy of the soul, and proceed to express 
that joy through external things, it is 
then that things serve their true purpose, 
adding thereby to the joy of the soul; 
because here it is most important to 
understand that the inner consciousness 
of the higher joy of the soul increases in 
proportion to the measure of that joy we 
express. 

We can find an illustration of this truth 

[74] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

in the world of music; that is, however 
great the joy and the privilege of the 
musical genius may be in the mere fact 
that he is conscious of his power to give 
music, his joy and privilege will increase 
remarkably the moment he proceeds to 
express that music through a perfect 
instrument. In like manner, the joy of 
the soul, in its own sublime consciousness 
of the all-joy, may be marvelous beyond 
words; nevertheless, when the soul begins 
to express that joy in the world of things, 
immediately the feeling of joy in the 
within will increase accordingly. 

Thus we understand that, although the 
world of things is not necessary to the full 
life of the soul as lived in the spirit, 
nevertheless, the life of the soul becomes 
infinitely more wonderful and enjoyable 
as it is given expression in the outer 
world; and that is why we have the 
manifested universe with its innumerable 
spheres, visible and invisible. 

[75] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

The same truth, if applied in another 
direction, would lead us to the conclusion 
that all the souls in the cosmos, frequently 
described as "the great white throng," are 
as necessary to God as God is necessary 
to that innumerable host; and to express 
this idea briefly, we would simply say 
that, although the Infinite is sufficient in 
the fullest and highest significance of that 
term, nevertheless, the expression of Divine 
Life, individualized in countless millions of 
human entities, is a privilege far beyond 
the power of any mind to conceive; 
because the joy of Infinite Life increases 
in proportion to the measure of expression 
of that fife in the consciousness of human 
souls who have the power to partake and 
manifest that joy. If we are spiritually 
conscious we can discern this very clearly; 
and it is a truth that is wonderfully rich 
with spiritual wisdom — a truth which 
when discerned will change remarkably 
our understanding of the Supreme. Fur- 

[76] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

thermore, when we know that we exist as 
spiritual entities, not in some vague, 
indefinable realm only, but because we 
are necessary to the greatest joy and 
privilege of the Supreme — that we are 
necessary in this manner throughout eter- 
nity — when we realize this great truth, 
we shall indeed pause to think as we 
never thought before. 

Returning to that phase of the subject 
that we shall have to consider in living up 
to this highest truth, we must constantly 
bear in mind the principle that we must 
become conscious of the allness of life 
and power in the within before we can 
demonstrate the power to cause all things 
desired to come to us in the without; 
and when we realize further that things 
have no value in themselves, but become 
valuable only as channels for expression, 
we understand how absolutely necessary 
it is to continue in that lofty position 
where we are fully conscious of the posses- 

[77] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

sion of everything that can possibly exist 
in the life of the soul. But as the soul 
lives perpetually in a desire to express its 
all-sufficiency — it is when we become 
deeply conscious of that desire that we 
can really appreciate the true purpose of 
things; and it is then that we make 
a most important discovery concerning 
the true relationship between the spirit 
of things and things themselves. And 
through this discovery we find that we 
do not secure power from things; but we 
can, when we live in the spirit, give power 
to things — give power to everything, and 
thereby manifest our own power in the 
external in perfect accord with our con- 
sciousness of that power in the within. 
And again, we must remember that how- 
ever great our joy our wisdom or power 
may be in the perfect consciousness of the 
soul, that joy wisdom and power will 
consciously increase through expression. 

In this connection we might with much 

£78] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

interest consider another phase of the same 
principle; that is, that the privilege of 
being alive, although very great, is not 
nearly as great as the privilege of living 
life; and the reason is, that when we 
are simply alive we are conscious of life 
only in its passive or inactive state; but 
when we begin to live life, then we cause 
life to go forth in a thousand different 
directions; and accordingly, life becomes a 
thousand times more interesting. This 
fact, if considered in connection with all 
other modes of expression, will give em- 
phasis to the statement made, that the 
soul although all-sufficient in itself, finds 
far greater joy in its all-sufficiency when 
that all-sufficiency begins to manifest 
throughout the visible and tangible world 
of things. 

To consider this idea in a very practical 
manner, we will turn our attention to the 
fact that nearly every mind of ambition is 
constantly in search of external advantages 

[79] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

or more worthy opportunities. Accord- 
ingly, we find all such minds going out in 
search of greater opportunities, or in search 
of external channels for more worthy or 
more wonderful accomplishments; and in 
a measure these things are found; but 
only in a measure, and for the time being 
— no permanent satisfaction ever arising 
from such a mode of procedure. However, 
if these minds would first search for the 
greater power within, that is, the all- 
sufficiency of power, realizing that every 
advantage, opportunity or privilege exists 
potentially in the life of the soul even 
now — if the mind would first enter into 
that extraordinary realization, the power 
desired would at once arise in conscious- 
ness; that is, that power within through 
which every individual can create his own 
opportunities, his own privileges and his 
own channels of richer expression. Thus, 
instead of going out into the external in 
search of something that will have to be 
[80] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

created from the within before it can 
possibly exist in the external — instead of 
taking that round-about way, usually 
finding nothing, we may, by entering 
directly into the consciousness of the 
all-sufficiency of the soul, secure the very 
power through which we can create for 
ourselves any external opportunity, privi- 
lege or advantage that we may wish to 
apply in connection with any object or 
ambition we have in mind. 

When we understand these things we 
realize that there is no contradiction in 
the statement that, having everything 
already we should not go in search of any- 
thing. But there is a seeming contradic- 
tion so long as we view this highest truth 
from the consciousness of the personal only. 
The fact is, we should not go in search of 
things for the mere sake of possessing 
things, or in the mistaken belief that we 
can find in things what we need or desire. 
We should take another course entirely, 

[81] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

and first seek the consciousness of that 
higher power within that can, when mani- 
fested in the without, do anything desired 
with things — a power that can create any 
condition among things, or attract any 
combination of things or quality of ele- 
ments or forces whatever according to the 
object we have in view. 

To use a familiar statement, we can do 
anything desired with effects when we 
gain the power to master completely the 
original cause of all such effects. But that 
power we cannot gain so long as we live 
down in the world of things, believing that 
we are subject to things or dependent 
upon things, or that we can secure happi- 
ness, wisdom, power or a richer life 
through a certain peculiar combination of 
things. Such a belief is the very reverse 
of the highest truth, which declares, that 
we are not directly dependent upon any- 
thing in the external, because we have, 
not only the all in all in spiritual conscious- 

[82] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

ness, but through the possession of the all 
in all we have that power that can, when 
applied externally, do everything conceiv- 
able with the external world. 

Another important statement to hold 
constantly before mind is this, that we 
secure a certain desirable combination of 
things in the without only as we gain the 
consciousness of the ideal of that combina- 
tion in the higher life of the real and the 
true. But we cannot become conscious of 
that ideal excepting in this sublime state 
where we know that we have everything. 

When we consider the needs of the 
personal life, as found among those who 
live exclusively in the world of things, 
we discern on every hand persons that 
feel as if they could not exist another day 
unless they secured certain conditions, 
certain privileges or certain tangible things 
that seem absolutely necessary. And they 
live constantly in that attitude, receiving 
temporary satisfaction upon occasions, but 

[83] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

never securing what they think they posi- 
tively must have in order to live. And 
the reason is, that they are looking in the 
world of effect for that which cannot 
appear in the world of effect until it has 
been created by the natural cause in the 
within. 

We may grope in darkness for ages, 
thinking we cannot exist another moment 
until we receive the light, and yet so long 
as we continue to grope in darkness, never 
thinking of how we might produce the 
light, we will continue in the blackness of 
the darkness without change. But the 
very moment we go to the source of light, 
and give attention to that source, we 
produce the light, and the awful darkness 
disappears completely. 

However, the great source of everything 
that we may desire or need can be found 
only in that sublime state of consciousness 
wherein we know that the soul is in 
possession of the all-sufficiency — in need 

[84] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

of nothing, having within itself the limit- 
less life, wisdom, power and riches of the 
Infinite. It is then that we can give 
real action to the sublime source of the 
Great Light; and when we do give such 
action, the Great Light will go forth 
throughout the entire world of conscious- 
ness. And what we become conscious of, 
that we shall invariably bring forth in the 
visible world. 

When we understand this highest truth, 
we discover for the first time the meaning 
of that wonderful statement, "Be true to 
yourself," because it is only as you take 
this lofty position where you realize that 
you are the true self, that you become 
conscious of the all-sufficiency of the soul; 
in other words, we can be true to the self 
only when we know what the self really 
is, and what the self really can do. But 
on the contrary, we cannot be true to the 
self so long as we go in search among 
things for those needs of life that the self 

[85] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

alone can provide. This is what it means 
"to grieve the spirit away"; to deny 
Higher Power, believing that we can find 
what we want in "this world." How- 
ever, when we arrive to that higher 
consciousness where we realize that the 
all in all is in the spirit only, in the 
spiritual life of the supreme self, then we 
no longer deny the Holy Spirit, nor the 
Christ, nor the Infinite. We rely upon 
the whole truth, the highest truth; and 
we receive that greater power that in- 
variably appears in consciousness when 
we discern this highest truth. 

To state it differently, when we find our 
true position in life — and we find our 
true position only as we establish ourselves 
in our loftiest position — when we begin 
to live in that lofty position, which is the 
true position, we understand that it is 
then and then only that we can live life 
as life should be lived, and relate ourselves 
to things in such a way as to use all things 

[86] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

according to the law of manifestation and 
the law of growth and advancement in 
personal life; that is, it is only after we 
have taken our true place in life and 
consciousness that we can do anything 
right. And when we begin to do every- 
thing right, then we can readily understand 
what a marvelous change must come over 
our entire world. 

The more we think of this highest truth 
the more clearly we appreciate its real 
significance; but while we are on the way 
to the full understanding of this highest 
truth it is well to consider the immediate 
value of accepting this truth, even though 
its greatest power has not as yet become 
manifested. To illustrate: When we ac- 
cept the idea that the human soul, being 
in possession of everything necessary to 
life, and when we realize that the spirit of 
man can, therefore, need nothing, or lose 
nothing — when this startling truth is 
realized, we shall never be depressed, 

[87] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

dissatisfied or disappointed with external 
conditions, no matter how disappointing 
those conditions may for the time being 
seem to be. 

When we take that lofty position, 
realizing that we have it all, and therefore, 
we can in reality experience neither loss, 
grief nor disappointment — when we take 
that higher ground, what an immense 
change we will produce, not only in our 
own attitude towards life, but in our own 
state of mind, in our own feelings, desires 
and mental actions; in fact, our mode of 
thought and action will change absolutely; 
and instead of grieving when conditions 
seem to be adverse, we will continue in the 
consciousness of the great truth that we 
have everything and that all is well. 

In the beginning, the practical value of 
such an attitude will simply be to give us 
sublime peace of mind no matter what 
may transpire; but the taking of that 
higher ground will work wonders in the 

[88] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

course of time, because if we continue to 
live in the conviction that we have it all, 
and that all is well, we will continue to 
create the perfect and the ideal in our 
own consciousness, creating the perfect and 
the ideal more wonderfully, and upon a 
grander scale every day; and according 
to the great law, whatever we create in 
consciousness we will invariably experience, 
attract, produce and possess in the external 
in due time. In consequence, we do not 
simply give the mind peace by living in 
the conviction that the soul is all-sufficient 
now, in need of nothing, beyond all loss, 
grief or disappointment. We accomplish 
infinitely more than merely this peace of 
mind, because, while living in that lofty 
position, we continue to live the highest 
truth — to express and manifest the life, 
the wisdom, the light and the power of 
the highest truth. And in due time, such 
expression will appear in the visible and 
in the tangible, which will mean the 

[89] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

transformation of the external according 
to the image and likeness of the highest 
truth — the consciousness of which we 
have lived so faithfully and so well. 

Thus we realize that whatever the per- 
son may think or feel, or however condi- 
tions may appear in the external, we have 
everything to gain by taking this higher 
ground now; and we all can. Then as 
we proceed, we will demonstrate more and 
more that the law is absolutely true; we 
shall not have to live very long in that 
lofty place, in the consciousness of the 
power of the spirit, until that power will 
begin to make changes for the better in 
mind and body and in external conditions. 
Furthermore, we will demonstrate con- 
tinuously the power of that great state- 
ment, "When one is lifted up, hundreds 
and thousands will be lifted up." When 
we take this great step, we will become 
instrumental in leading, first, a few to do 
the same, then a larger number, until 

[90] 



STEPS TO HIGHER TRUTHS 

later we may inspire a vast throng to take 
the same higher ground, the final results 
of which will be marvelous beyond words 
to describe. 

We know that the greatest movements 
in the world have originated in this 
manner — some great soul taking higher 
ground, and a few coming up to the same 
lofty place later; and gradually a larger 
number began to apply the same idea until 
the movement itself became an inspiration 
to the race. We can do this very thing 
now upon a larger scale than anything 
ever attempted in the past, because we 
are not dealing simply with the light of 
some valued idea — we are dealing with 
nothing less than the light of the highest 
truth; and therefore, the possibilities of a 
spiritual movement having for its purpose 
the living up to this highest truth — the 
possibilities of such a movement are so 
numerous and so wonderful that we shall, 
in order to appreciate the outcome, cause 

[91] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

our imagination to extend its power into 
the highest and largest realms conceivable; 
and even then, we shall be able to imagine 
only a part of what we may accomplish in 
taking such a course — proceeding now 
regardless of time, circumstance or condi- 
tion to live up to this highest truth — to 
know that we have everything that heart 
can desire — living in the very life of the 
Supreme. 



[92] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 




STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

>HE first essential in giving scien- 
tific attention to the study of the 
spiritual world is to realize that, 
what we speak of as the spiritual 
world, is not necessarily synonymous with 
the invisible world. And here we find one 
of the chief obstacles to spiritual advance- 
ment; that is, that we have, in too many 
instances, made the terms " spiritual' ' and 
"invisible" synonymous, and accordingly 
have come to the conclusion that an ex- 
perience in the invisible is also a spiritual 
experience, or that a gain made in our 
understanding of the invisible would also 
imply a gain in our understanding of the 
spiritual. 

The fact is, however, that these two 
terms are not synonymous — the invisible 
does not necessarily contain any more of 

[95] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

the spiritual than does the visible; but 
wherever we do proceed in the belief that 
the invisible is synonymous with the 
spiritual, we are very liable to turn our 
attention away from the spiritual, instead 
of entering into higher realizations of the 
spiritual. 

We must begin this study by under- 
standing, in the first place, that the invis- 
ible world, so-called, is only an extension 
of the visible world; and therefore, what 
we speak of as the invisible universe is 
simply elements and forces found in the 
physical universe manifesting in higher 
grades of vibration. 

As an illustration, we may take the 
force of light, which manifests in the 
visible through certain grades of vibration, 
but manifests also in a number of higher 
grades of vibration, spoken of as the 
higher octaves of light; but the only 
difference between visible light and the 
higher octave's of light is this, that the 

[96] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

vibrations in the latter are more rapid than 
in the former. Therefore, we cannot speak 
of the invisible rays of light as spiritual, 
any more than we can speak of the visible 
rays of light as spiritual. The only differ- 
ence between the visible and the invisible 
is a matter of speed in the vibrations. 

We are surrounded with elements on 
every hand that are purely physical, and 
yet not visible to physical sense — the 
atmosphere, as an illustration; but we 
have learned, through experiments, that 
there are also finer grades of atmosphere 
so delicate and so high in the scale of 
vibration that they cannot be discerned 
through any of our physical senses. How- 
ever, those finer grades of atmosphere are 
not necessarily spiritual simply because 
they are beyond the discernment of physi- 
cal sense. 

We might analyze the entire tangible 
universe in the same manner, and we 
would find, in each instance, that forces 

[97] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

and elements manifesting in the physical 
universe may and do manifest through 
higher and finer grades of expression, as 
high in the scale as we may wish to go; 
but in no instance are these so-called 
higher expressions of force or substance 
any more spiritual than those expressions 
of force and substance that we can feel, 
weigh and measure upon the physical 
plane. 

The reason for this is found in the fact 
that spirituality is something entirely 
different from the mere manifestation of 
life, force, substance or power upon any 
plane, no matter how high, delicate or 
wonderful that plane may be. 

We may illustrate the same principle 
by comparing two human beings, one very 
crude in expression and appearance, while 
the other very refined and highly de- 
veloped, so far as mind and personality 
are concerned; but this would not prove 
that the refined personality would neces- 

[98] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

sarily be more spiritual than the crude 
personality, although if the individual of 
refinement should undertake the develop- 
ment of spirituality, he would advance far 
more rapidly towards the spiritual heights 
than the individual who was still lacking 
in refinement of personality, thought and 
mind. 

You may examine two distinct forms of 
intellect in the same manner, one de- 
veloped to a very high degree, as far as 
intellect is concerned, while the other 
decidedly undeveloped in the intellectual 
world; but again the intellect with high 
development would not necessarily appre- 
ciate the spiritual, nor even the moral any 
better than the intellect that was lacking 
in purely intellectual development. But 
the same would be true as in the former 
illustration, with regard to possibility of 
spiritual development; that is, the finer 
the intellect the more rapidly can the 
mind develop along all lines, even spiritual 

[99] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

lines, provided such development is under- 
taken. 

We know, however, that a great many 
highly intellectual people are absolutely 
lacking in spiritual appreciation and cosmic 
consciousness; although their minds are 
wonderful in the intellectual world, still 
they are practically blind when it comes 
to things spiritual. 

Then on the other hand, we find a 
great many people who are not developed 
intellectually, but who may have a certain 
degree of appreciation of the spiritual. 
This does not prove, however, that in- 
tellect is an obstacle to spiritual develop- 
ment. On the contrary, it is a most 
important essential, provided we undertake 
spiritual development in earnest. But, 
knowing all these things, we realize that 
intellect itself, no matter how refined or 
how wonderful it may be, does not, in 
itself, constitute spirituality. 

The truth is, that an individual may be 

[100] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

wonderfully developed in personality, in 
mind, in talent, in genius and in all the 
higher and finer elements and qualities of 
life, and yet be totally unconscious of the 
spiritual side of life. 

In like manner, an individual may be 
highly developed in the so-called psychic 
world and be practically master of all the 
phases of the sixth sense, thereby having 
the power to look into the invisible world 
as if it were an open book, and yet be 
totally unconscious of the spiritual world 
and without the least spiritual develop- 
ment. 

All these facts prove that what we speak 
of as the higher, or the finer or the in- 
visible, does not produce or constitute 
spirituality. The truth is, we may rise to 
the very highest states of attainment in 
the so-called invisible universe, without 
taking a single step in advance into the 
spiritual world. And the reason why we 
understand when we realize that spirit- 

[101] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

uality is something entirely different from 
anything that appears anywhere in the 
manifested universe, no matter how high 
in manifestation the appearance may come 
forth. 

Regardless of our development along any 
line, we must add something entirely 
different if we wish spirituality, or if we 
desire to enter into the spiritual world. 

In many instances, that something else 
appears in minds that are neither refined 
nor developed; but minds that are lacking 
in refinement and development cannot go 
very far into the spiritual; so that we 
shall find it an advantage to further our 
own development along all lines when we 
have higher spiritual attainments in view. 

We may know something about the 
spiritual without having gone very far in 
the development of mind, personality, life 
or character; but the farther we go in the 
development of personality, life, mind and 
character, the higher we may go in spirit- 

[102] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

ual development, provided we find the 
key to the spiritual world. 

But we must, under every circumstance, 
have that key; because if we do not have 
the key to the spiritual world, we shall not 
find spirituality, no matter how wonder- 
fully we may be developed along all other 
lines, including the understanding of the 
invisible universe. 

On every hand we find people who 
have undertaken the study of the invisible, 
thinking that they may, through that 
source, gain absolute knowledge of life, 
and in that manner find the real solution 
for all the problems of life. But here we 
must remember again that the so-called 
invisible universe does not contain the 
secret, because the invisible, as well as 
the visible, is merely an effect. The cause 
of all manifestation is found only in the 
great within of the spiritual world. You 
will not get any nearer to the real principle 
of life or wisdom by furthering your study 

[103] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

of the so-called invisible forces and ele- 
ments of life, nor will you become more 
deeply conscious of the presence of the 
Infinite through development along these 
invisible lines. 

The reason is, that in any case, you will 
be dealing simply with manifestation; and 
you will not enter into that marvelous 
something that exists back of manifesta- 
tion until you enter into the real con- 
sciousness of the spiritual world. 

The power of the spirit can be found 
only in the spiritual world, and may not 
be found in matter or force, no matter 
how high in the scale of the invisible world 
matter or substance or force may manifest. 

To find the spirit of things, we must 
enter into the spirit of things; and we 
enter into the spirit of things only when 
we become conscious of the spiritual world 
— that world of reality and principle and 
life that has its being within the entire 
cosmos, but that does not appear in 

[104] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

differentiated form anywhere in the world 
of manifestation. 

We also realize that we can understand 
cause only by entering into the conscious- 
ness of cause; but here we should re- 
member that cause does not exist in the 
invisible any more than in the visible. 
On the contrary, cause exists back of the 
invisible as well as back of the visible, 
these two being, under every circumstance, 
merely effects of the Real Cause of every- 
thing, which may be found only in the 
spiritual world. 

It is clearly evident, therefore, that we 
cannot understand the spiritual world 
merely through a study of the invisible. 
We must turn our attention in another 
direction; and when we do, we shall find 
that there is just as much spirit in the 
within of visible substance as there is in 
the within of invisible substance; and 
also, we shall find the power of the spirit 
expressing itself just as fully in visible 

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STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

force as it does in invisible force, although 
a greater measure of this power may some- 
times be found expressing itself in the 
higher grades of invisible life, the differ- 
ence there would be, not in kind, but in 
quantity. 

When we consider the subject from this 
true understanding of life, we will naturally 
inquire what we really do know about the 
spiritual world. It is quite true that we 
know a great deal about the invisible 
world. Modern science is making it possi- 
ble for an individual to gain direct infor- 
mation concerning what we have spoken 
of as things invisible. We may, through 
certain instruments, discern higher octaves 
of light, such as the X-Rays and the 
N-Rays — forces of light that cannot be 
discerned through the physical eye unaided. 
We are also able to measure higher vibra- 
tions of sound that cannot be heard by 
the physical ear unaided. In like manner, 
we are able to detect substances and 

[106] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

elements higher up in the scale of mani- 
festation — elements that appear intangible 
to physical sense, and yet prove them- 
selves, through experiments, to be just as 
tangible as the solid rock with which we 
all are familiar. 

We are exploring the unknown in every 
realm of the invisible universe, and we are 
finding facts and information of inestima- 
ble value; but this information gives us 
absolutely nothing about the spiritual 
world, the reason for which our preceding 
analysis has demonstrated conclusively. 

A scientist may be able to use the 
X-Ray and the N-Ray, and any number 
of higher and finer rays of light, under- 
standing them perfectly, comprehending 
the laws through which they manifest, but 
this power does not make him spiritual. 

An occult scientist may be able to 
discern some of the finest forces in the 
invisible world, and may be able to detect, 
through the sixth sense, all kinds of mani- 

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STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

festations and modes of life upon higher 
planes; but this does not make him 
spiritual, or give him the least added 
insight into the spiritual world. 

In many instances, this so-called higher 
knowledge of invisible things will, for a 
time, become an obstacle to real spiritual 
understanding, because the individual may 
imagine for a time that he has found, 
through his knowledge of the invisible, 
the real secret of spiritual things. 

The same may be true of the physical 
scientist. He may become so enthused 
over his ability to penetrate the unknown 
with his wonderful instruments that he 
may imagine for a time that the unknown 
is nothing more than an extension of the 
known, and that it is all force and matter 
after all, appearing in different grades of 
vibration. He defines the invisible, or the 
unknown, as simply more rapid vibrations 
of force and matter; but, to his mind, it 
is all force and matter; and in conse- 

[108] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

quence, he remains, in his conception of 
things, as materialistic as he was before. 

We realize that knowledge along all 
lines will, in the long run, prove ad- 
vantageous, both in our ability to master 
the visible and the invisible, and in our 
ability to discern the spiritual. But, as 
stated previously, we must find the key 
to the spiritual world before we can enter 
that world; that key, however, cannot be 
found simply through a knowledge of 
visible or invisible elements or forces. 
We must search in an entirely different 
direction. 

The first essential will be to realize 
clearly and absolutely that the spiritual 
world and the invisible world are not the 
same. The second essential will be to 
realize that we cannot find the spiritual 
world by going up in the scale of vibration 
of manifested expression; but that we can 
find the spiritual world only by entering 
into the spirit of the unmanifested within 

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STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

that exists back of all manifestations; or 
in other words, that has its being in the 
Changeless Soul of the universe. When 
we enter the spirit of all life, we find a 
state wherein all being is as it is for all 
time; and in that state we find the All in 
All — a state to which nothing can be 
added and nothing taken away. 

When we examine the various visible or 
invisible states of life, however, we invari- 
ably find conditions to which something 
can be added, or from which something can 
be taken away. And herein we shall find 
the real secret to the spiritual life, or to 
the spiritual state of being; that is, when- 
ever you discern a state of being to which 
nothing can be added, or nothing taken 
away, then you may know that you are 
conscious of the spirit, or that you have 
entered into the spiritual world. 

On the other hand, whenever you meet 
a state of existence wherein you find that 
something might be added, or taken away, 

[110] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

you are not dealing with the real spiritual 
world, but with the manifested world, 
the world of change and growth and de- 
velopment, existing as it does, not only 
upon the visible plane, but upon millions 
and millions of invisible planes, ascending 
higher and higher in the scale of ever- 
advancing manifestation. 

When we enter the spiritual world we 
find real being itself; but real being is 
something that cannot be defined in words. 
It is something that we must become 
conscious of individually; and we do 
become conscious of real being when we 
experience that consciousness of being 
that reveals to us unmistakably the great 
truth that to this being nothing can be 
added or taken away. 

When we analyze the great universe of 
manifestation, visible and invisible, we find 
that it is eternally becoming; it is incom- 
plete everywhere, and subject to develop- 
ment along all lines for eternity. But this 

[111] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

is not true of the spiritual world. The 
spiritual world is finished even now; it is 
complete in the absolute sense, containing 
within itself the All in All; and when we 
actually enter into the spiritual world, and 
become conscious of the All in All, we 
shall know for ourselves that within the 
spiritual world nothing can be added or 
taken away. Thus we may declare with 
the illumined Mind of other days, "It is 
finished, and it is all very good." 

When we approach the study of the 
spiritual we must invariably bear in mind 
the truth that everything existing in, or 
pertaining to, the spiritual is in itself 
complete; and also that our mental atti- 
tude, when undertaking such study, must 
proceed in the conscious recognition of 
this great truth — recognizing definitely 
and continually the principle of absolute 
perfection and completeness in everything 
that involves the elements of the spiritual. 

In approaching the study of the soul 

[112] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

we must employ the same method, because 
the soul is absolutely spiritual, and there- 
fore contains within itself everything that 
is necessary to the life and eternal exist- 
ence of the soul. We know that mind and 
body are incomplete, which is true of 
everything finding expression in the ex- 
ternal; that is, wherever we find expres- 
sion, there we shall find completeness, 
because expression is at best only a partial 
coming forth of the limitless that exists in 
the spiritual within. 

This being true, we realize that develop- 
ment and advancement would involve the 
continual increase of expression in every 
form and manner — an increase that is 
necessarily perpetual, because there can 
be no end to the increase of that which is, 
in reality, limitless. 

When we proceed with the analysis of 
anything in life, we meet the same princi- 
ples and conditions; that is, we find 
incompleteness in the external no matter 

[113] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

how high in the scale the external may 
manifest; and we meet absolute com- 
pleteness in the within of everything, 
whether it be a quality, a principle, an 
entity or a universe. The spiritual within 
of everything is complete and changeless, 
and that is the reason why it is spiritual. 

To consider the more practical side of 
the subject, we may examine the principle 
of health and wholeness; and we shall 
discover the existence of a principle of 
health having its being within the life of 
all kinds of health, and that this principle 
contains every element of health that is 
conceivable or possible. In other words, 
the principle of perfect health contains so 
much health that it would be impossible 
to contain any more; and therefore the 
real principle of health is purely spiritual, 
containing within itself an unlimited 
measure of real or absolute health. 

This being true, we realize the necessity 
of going to the inner or spiritual source 

[114] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

for health, wholeness, life, vitality, power, 
if we would secure the largest possible 
measure and the finest and most perfect 
conceivable quality. 

We may examine any quality in the 
same manner, or any state of the mind, 
or of consciousness; and we shall find 
that even though the external expression 
may be incomplete, the inner source is 
absolutely complete, so that the without 
can continue to draw upon the within for 
an endless period of time, constantly 
receiving more without at any time ex- 
hausting the source of supply. 

This being true, we realize that no 
matter how much we may possess of the 
richness or perfection of life, either in 
personality, in mind or in soul, we can 
always receive more from the spiritual 
within, and continue to receive more 
without any end — rising thereby in the 
scale along all lines perpetually. However, 
we must, before we can apply this wonder- 

[115] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

ful law, understand perfectly the great 
truth that the spiritual is perfect, complete 
and inexhaustible, and that the spiritual 
is the real, immeasurable source of every- 
thing that appears in the outer world. 

When we consider individuals in the 
light of this idea and speak of them as 
spiritual, we cannot possibly mean that 
they are spiritual through and through, or 
in the absolute sense, but that they are 
growing in the consciousness of the spir- 
itual, and thereby drawing more and more 
upon the perfection of the soul for external 
expression in mind and personality. 

The outer life is always incomplete, 
always growing, always developing, always 
advancing, while the inner life is constantly 
giving forth more and more from its inex- 
haustible perfection for the purpose of 
increasing the perfection, the richness and 
the worth of external life; and any indi- 
vidual who is constantly bringing forth 
from the spiritual within more and more 

[116] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

of the richness, the quality and the life of 
the spirit, is constantly becoming more, 
spiritual in consciousness and in realiza- 
tion; and therefore we can speak of. such 
an individual as being upon the great 
spiritual path. 

An individual, however, who has not 
become conscious of the spiritual within, 
and is accordingly depending exclusively 
upon the limitations of the outer life, has 
not as yet entered upon the spiritual path, 
and therefore reveals in personality, in 
mind and in thought only those elements 
that pertain to personal life, or the earth, 
earthy. 

But we all are destined in due time, to 
become conscious of the spirit, and thereby 
begin the expression of the spiritual through 
every phase of external life; but as this is 
an endless process, no individual soul will, 
at any time, come to a place where the 
full expression of the spirit will become 
tangible in external life; and this is well, 

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STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

because if we should reach such a state, 
then life would come to a standstill, and 
there would be nothing further to live for 
in the future. 

When we realize the full significance of 
life and its development, we find that we 
live in two worlds, or that we all should 
live in two worlds if we would be true to 
the great purpose that existence has in 
view. These two worlds constitute the 
great within and the great without, or the 
spiritual within which is inexhaustible 
perfection, and the external without which 
is eternally receiving a greater and a 
greater degree of expression from the 
spiritual, and thereby ever becoming more 
wonderful, more beautiful and more ideal. 

The majority, however, live almost 
entirely in the without, and only upon 
rare occasions come into conscious contact 
with the spiritual within. That is the 
principal reason why the majority is 
materialistic and live in bondage to illness, 

[118] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

adversity and pain, meeting the wrong on 
every hand and gaining only fragments of 
that which is conducive to goodness and 

joy. 

To live in such a state of mind, how- 
ever, is to depend almost exclusively upon 
the limitations of the without, and there- 
fore such an existence will not mean very 
much under any circumstance. But when 
we proceed to live as much in the spiritual 
within as we do in the tangible without, 
we shall find that every moment will 
become larger, more wonderful and more 
desirable, because we are constantly draw- 
ing upon the richness of the spiritual for 
perpetual increase in the external; and 
we know that there can be no greater joy 
than the consciousness of continuous ascen- 
sion into the larger, the richer and the 
higher in life, thought and sublime realiza- 
tion. 

To make practical application of this 
mode of living, we should enter as fre- 

[119] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

quently as possible, and as deeply as 
possible, into the consciousness of the 
purely spiritual — into the realization of 
that world wherein all things are abso- 
lutely perfect and inexhaustible, so that 
we may receive an ever-increasing measure, 
not only of life, but of all the elements 
and qualities of life, thereby increasing 
constantly the value, the worth, the 
meaning and the power of personal exist- 
ence; that is, we should be conscious of 
the spirit continually, and should contin- 
ually aim to build up, refine, develop and 
perfect everything in mind and personality. 
But in order that we may proceed in the 
application of this principle, we must live 
in two worlds at a time; we must live in 
the tangible without and also in the 
spiritual within. 

When we appreciate the real significance 
of the spiritual world, and know that it is 
a world permeating all other worlds in the 
vastness of the cosmos, and that this 

[120] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

spiritual world is so constituted that it 
contains within itself everything that eter- 
nity may require for life, advancement and 
ascension, we will naturally inquire how 
we may know more about the spiritual, 
and also examine our minds with a view 
of ascertaining how much we know about 
the spiritual at the present time. 

When these questions have been an- 
swered, we will ask ourselves how we 
learned what we know about the spiritual, 
or how we became conscious of those 
spiritual elements that we know we are 
conscious of in our present stage of 
realization. When we know these things 
we shall be better able to proceed further, 
and therefore such questions are most 
important. 

When we attempt to define the spiritual 
we begin by declaring that the spiritual 
world is absolute; and we know that that 
which is absolute is in a state wherein 
nothing can be added; but we do not find 

[121] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

it possible to conceive of such a state so 
long as our consciousness is purely per- 
sonal. The appreciation of the spiritual, 
therefore, is something that cannot be 
gained until we first develop at least a 
measure of spiritual discernment; but we 
all do possess a certain measure of spiritual 
discernment, and therefore we have a foun- 
dation upon which to build the great struc- 
ture of limitless spiritual consciousness. 

We speak of the Divine as absolute 
because we realize that we can add nothing 
to the wisdom, the power, the life, the 
light and the glory of the Supreme. We 
say that God is All in All, but we can 
say the same of the spiritual world. 

When we examine the external world, 
however, we find the very reverse. We 
may ascend continually in the scale of 
development until we become marvels, 
far beyond the power of imagination to 
picture, and yet we can still go higher. 
We can still attain greater power, greater 

[122] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

wisdom, greater attainments. The same 
is true of everything that exists in the 
great without. No matter how wonderful 
it may be, we can still make it more 
wonderful, and we can continue to make it 
more and more wonderful during the 
innumerable aeons of eternity. 

Thus we appreciate the fact that that 
which manifests in the great without, no 
matter how marvelous or how high in the 
scale it may be, whether it exists in the 
visible or in the very highest phases of 
the invisible, it is nevertheless external — 
you can always add something more, you 
can always make it more perfect or more 
wonderful. 

But this is not true of the spiritual 
world. The spiritual world is, even now, 
at the apex of absolute perfection, so that 
there is no law in the cosmos through 
which anything could be added to the 
completeness of that world. 

However, the spiritual world, even though 

[123] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

it appears to be the very reverse of the 
external world, is not a thing apart. It is 
not a universe that exists beyond or away 
from the physical or external universe. 
The spiritual world is, in truth, the very 
soul of the external world, and therefore is 
present everywhere. But it cannot be 
found by going up, so to speak, in the 
scale of development, nor can it be found 
by entering the invisible, because the 
invisible spheres are also in the external. 

We can find the spiritual world only by 
entering into the spirit of the within; and 
spirit is neither visible nor invisible — 
spirit is neither high nor low in the scale 
— spirit neither changes nor disappears, 
but always is what it is — the All in All. 

This being true, we find the life and 
the principle of spirit everywhere, in every 
quality, in every manifestation, in every 
expression; and for an illustration, we 
may consider the spirit of music. We 
know that music, as generally appreciated, 

[124] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

is an external expression, involving har- 
monies of tone; but that expression has a 
source in what we speak of as the soul of 
music. And we know that whenever we 
enter into the soul of music, or enter into 
that state of appreciation where we feel 
that we discern the spirit of music, it is 
then that we appreciate and enjoy music 
far beyond previous experience. 

We know that those who appreciate real 
music are familiar with the fact that the 
finest artists invariably approach the spirit 
of music, and also that the more deeply 
an artist enters into the spirit of music, 
the more wonderful his music becomes. 
We say that the music of such and such 
an artist has soul — in brief, it is some- 
thing more than the mere harmony of 
tone — something infinitely more — some- 
thing that can never be defined or 
described. And the reason for this we 
understand when we know that the soul of 
music contains within itself all the music 

[125] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

of existence; that is, so much music that 
it would not be possible to add to its 
volume, quantity or quality in any form or 
manner. 

In this very place we will make a great 
discovery, if our minds are open to the 
higher and the greater. We will discover 
the secret of becoming a great or a wonder- 
ful musician; and this secret consists of 
the power of entering into the soul of 
music instead of simply performing in the 
external. We know that an artist in- 
variably gives expression in the without 
to what is felt in the within; and there- 
fore, if the artist can enter so deeply into 
the spiritual within of the soul of music 
that the real divine source of music is 
felt and discerned, we understand that 
such an artist would naturally give expres- 
sion to music that would be far superior 
to anything we had ever heard before. 
We know that there are any number of 
musicians who are technically perfect in 

[126] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

their expression, but there are only a few 
who reveal the real spirit of the Great 
Symphony. 

However, if all these musicians who are 
technically perfect would realize that music 
has soul, or that there is a spiritual world 
within the tangible world of music, and 
then try and become conscious of that 
spiritual world so as to feel and realize 
the marvels, the wonders and the inde- 
scribable beauty of music as it is in its 
sublime perfection — if our technically per- 
fect musicians would take such a course, 
we can well imagine what the music of 
the future would be. 

We may examine any art or any quality 
in life, and we will discover the same 
principle. To illustrate again, we may 
take human character, and we shall find 
that certain characters are strictly proper 
in their conduct and in their relationship 
with human life, but there is something 
about their conduct that appears to be 

[127] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

purely mechanical, and therefore they 
produce no special impression upon those 
with whom they come in contact. But 
occasionally we meet characters who have 
soul, and we are aware of the fact that 
they are not only living in harmony with 
the great laws of life, being true to the 
truth in all their actions and expressions, 
but in addition they are giving soul not 
only to everything they do, but they are 
also giving soul to their very presence, 
so that when we find ourselves in the 
presence of such characters we are wonder- 
fully impressed with the beauty, and we 
might say divinity, of the life that is being 
expressed through them. 

We meet the same conditions in the 
human mind, and also in the various 
faculties of the mind. Some minds are 
brilliant, but are purely mechanical in 
their brilliancy, while other minds add 
what we might call a "finer touch" to 
every thought or expression; and the 

[128] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

reason is that such minds are in touch 
with the soul of life — such minds are 
becoming conscious of the spiritual world 
existing everywhere, within the mind, 
within all things. 

In any individual mind we may find 
certain faculties that are spiritualized, so 
to speak, while the other faculties remain 
purely material; and the reason is that 
the majority of those faculties have not 
been sufficiently developed to discern or 
express the soul of mentality, while one 
or a few of these faculties may have 
received such development. That is why 
certain individuals sometimes are so ex- 
traordinary and so superior along one or 
a few lines of expression, while very ordi- 
nary or even inferior in every other 
respect. 

Thus we appreciate the importance of 
training the entire system to give expres- 
sion to the life and the power of the 
spiritual world that permeates all things; 

[129] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

but again we cannot find spirit by trying 
to go up into the invisible, as so many 
have tried to do; but only by directing 
consciousness upon that wonderful state 
within where everything is changeless, 
absolute, complete, containing eternally 
the All in All. 

Illustrating further, we find this same 
wonderful principle revealed in our idea 
of the beautiful. We may think that we 
appreciate the beauty of things, and yet 
our appreciation may be insignificant com- 
pared with what it might be if we were 
conscious of the soul of the beautiful 
everywhere. 

The more we analyze the subject, the 
more perfectly we realize that within 
everything that is beautiful, or back of 
every expression of the beautiful, we shall 
find the real soul of the beautiful, and this 
soul is infinitely beautiful; that is, the 
soul of the beautiful involves so much of 
the beautiful, and to such a wonderful 

[130] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

degree, that it can only be described as 
infinitely beautiful — beyond all thought 
or expression in its splendor and glory. 

We find the same to be true of the 
ideal; that is, we shall find that every 
ideal has soul, and that the ideal of the 
soul is infinitely higher than the ideal itself. 
Therefore, if we would learn to approach 
the soul of every ideal, we should find 
that our ideals would become higher and 
higher eternally; and we know that the 
higher our ideals ascend, the higher we 
shall rise, not only in life, but also in 
expression and true spiritual attainment. 

In our personal development, and espe- 
cially in the development of the powers or 
talents of the mind, we shall find in this 
connection a most practical idea. Briefly 
stated, if you have a certain talent, and 
know that that talent is but a partial 
expression of an interior or spiritual talent 
which is so wonderful that it contains 
within itself the absolutely limitless, you 

[131] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

are on the verge of a wonderful experience 
in development. You realize, in the first 
place, that the more deeply conscious you 
become of the limitless and infinitely 
perfect talent within you, the more you 
express from the within through the 
external manifestation of your talent. 
You thereby not only give your external 
talent soul and spirit and a greater 
measure of life and power, but you con- 
tinually bring forth into the external 
an ever-increasing measure of talent, so 
that in the course of time the external 
expression of your talent will necessarily 
become prodigious. But again, we shall 
have to remember that we cannot find 
the spirit of anything unless we direct 
our minds towards the spiritual within 
and recognize the great truth that in 
the spiritual within we shall find the 
All in AU. 

We may apply the same principle in 
personal development along any line, or 

[132] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

with reference to any quality or any 
power, or any possibility we may possess. 
Within them all we shall find the spirit, 
or the soul, or the spiritual world; and 
the more deeply conscious we become of 
the perfection and the limitlessness of the 
spirit within everything, the more we 
shall express through everything; and 
this is especially true of life itself, the 
greatest and most wonderful gift that 
the individual has received from the 
Supreme. 

The majority, however, live their life 
in the external, almost unconscious of the 
spiritual source, and therefore they never 
realize the life more abundant. But the 
moment we begin to become conscious 
of the inexhaustible life in the great 
within, or discover the very spirit of life 
itself — the very moment we meet this 
experience, we find that the gates are 
ajar, and we proceed to enter a state of 
existence that is infinitely larger, more 

[133] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

wonderful and more desirable than any- 
thing we have ever experienced before. 

In other words, when we enter the 
spirit of life, we find that we become 
conscious not only of life in its highest 
and most wonderful state of being, but 
we also become conscious of limitless, 
inexhaustible life — the glory and splendor 
of which the illumined soul, in its master 
state, alone may behold and understand. 

For the purpose of illustration, we may 
again consider the quality of health; and 
we find that the principle of health in 
itself is in truth the spirit of health, or 
has its origin and existence in that some- 
thing that we may define as real and 
unchangeable and invincible health — a 
state or spirit that contains health to such 
a perfect degree that it would not be 
possible for anything to contain health 
to a more perfect degree; and further- 
more, that the health of the spirit is so 
powerful that it could not be changed or 

[134] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

removed by any power in the external 
world with which it might come in contact. 

If we could realize absolutely such an 
idea of health, we understand what a 
difference we would experience in our 
possession of health. The majority feel 
that they have reasonably good health, 
but have no idea as to what the ideal of 
absolute health might signify, nor do they 
for a moment think that there is a deeper 
and a finer state of health which consti- 
tutes in itself the perfection of health. 
Accordingly, the majority are in a condi- 
tion where their health is not fully 
established, and frequently their possession 
of health is limited or uncertain. 

With this condition we may well com- 
pare that consciousness of perfect being 
into which we enter when we realize that 
we possess, within ourselves, a principle 
or spirit of health that is absolutely perfect 
and complete; and having made this 
comparison, we will inquire as to how we 

[135] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

may pass from the condition of the former 
to the consciousness of the latter. The 
answer is this, that when in search of 
health, and we all are in search of more 
health, we must begin with the realization 
of the great truth that the source of 
absolute health is found in the spiritual 
world, that wonderful state of being that 
exists everywhere and that permeates all 
things. Furthermore, we must realize that 
health itself is spiritual; that is, real 
health, which is experienced by the few 
as compared with the limited expressions 
of health, which is experienced by the 
many. 

When we understand that real health 
is spiritual, and that such a state of health 
contains so much health and such perfect 
health that it could not be increased or 
improved upon in any form or manner, 
and then proceed to enter into the con- 
sciousness of the spirit of real health, we 
understand fully that the expression of 

[136] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

health throughout our entire system will 
steadily increase until in time the per- 
sonality will become so powerful with the 
real spirit of health that it would be 
immune under every circumstance. 

For further illustration, we may con- 
sider the attitude of peace, or the con- 
sciousness of the serene; and although 
many have the power to become peaceful 
and quiet to some degree, nevertheless 
there are only a few who ever become 
conscious of the peace that passeth under- 
standing. The reason why is this, that 
real peace is spiritual, existing only in the 
consciousness of the spiritual world, a 
world into which the mind may enter only 
as spirituality is developed. 

When we understand that the peace 
that passeth understanding is so perfect 
and so deeply calm that it possibly could 
not contain higher or finer or more perfect 
elements of peace, we have an ideal of the 
consciousness of peace that is so wonderful 

[137] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

that we shall have to think for days and 
weeks and months upon its possibilities 
before we can really comprehend its full 
significance. 

In like manner, we may consider the 
state of harmony; and we shall find that 
what the majority call harmony is not 
real harmony itself, but just a limited 
expression of concordant activities. If we 
would experience real harmony, we must 
enter the spirit, because such harmony is 
spiritual, and exists only in the spiritual 
world. Accordingly, real harmony is so 
complete and perfect in itself that it could 
not become more harmonious. 

Here again we have an ideal that 
deserves deep and sublime thought; and 
we shall find that the more we think of 
real harmony as existing in its perfect 
state in the spiritual world, the more 
harmonious we shall become in thought, 
life, feeling and action until we shall have 
gained remarkably in this direction. 

[138] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

When we consider these various qualities 
or states of being, we find invariably that 
in reality they are spiritual; and as we 
trace them out to their source and origin, 
we invariably enter the spiritual world, 
that world in which every quality or state 
of being is so perfect and so complete and 
so ideally placed, in its own existence, 
that it could not be improved upon in any 
form or manner. 

We may trace any quality in the same 
way; and if we try to find that quality in 
its perfect state, we invariably enter the 
spiritual world; and here we begin to 
understand what we mean by the term 
"spiritual." It is not a state of invisi- 
bility, or something that is beyond the 
external merely; but it is that world in 
which all things are perfect and complete, 
wherein nothing can be added or taken 
away — a world that exists in all things, 
and surrounds us everywhere, permeating 
everything, from the simplest of the visible 

[139] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

to the highest and the most marvelous of 
the invisible. 

When we look into the soul, or into the 
inner life, we find this spiritual world 
established there as it is established in 
every entity; and we find all the qualities 
of life existing in the soul in a spiritual 
state, that is, absolutely perfect and com- 
plete; and when we ask ourselves what 
we really know about the spiritual world, 
we shall find the answer in those experi- 
ences that we have enjoyed while the 
mind took wings, so to speak, and we 
transcended the incomplete and entered 
into the realization of things as they are 
in the perfect — in the sublime — in the 
real spirit of all that is. 

To state it differently, whenever we 
have experienced a joy that we might 
describe as the fullness of joy, or a state 
of harmony that we might describe as the 
fullness of harmony, or a state of health 
that we might describe as the fullness of 

[140] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

health, or any state that we might describe 
as the fullness thereof, we have been 
conscious of the spiritual world. 
: Therefore, it is not what we may 
speculate concerning the invisible that 
gives us the key to the spiritual world, 
but what we become conscious of in that 
realm of being wherein all things are 
eternally perfect, absolute and divine. 
And the word " divine" may be employed 
only when referring to qualities or states 
of being that contain so much of their 
own reality that they could not contain 
any more; that is, they are, in truth, the 
fullness of their own nature. 

Therefore, perfect health, or the fullness 
of health, is divine health. Likewise, 
perfect joy, or the fullness of joy, is divine 
joy; and perfect music, or what we may 
describe as the full expression of harmony 
through music, would be divine music. 
Briefly stated, perfect expressions of any- 
thing in nature, are divine expressions, 

[141] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

provided we use the term "perfect" as 
implying the fullness of expression, real- 
izing that the fullness of anything is all 
there is of that particular thing — a 
statement that becomes too large for 
objective comprehension when we realize 
that the all of anything is limitless. 

When we develop spiritual consciousness, 
we may take many journeys into this 
inner world, either into our own interior 
nature, or into the spirit of everything 
existing in nature; and we shall find that 
the spirit of a flower is as much a part 
of the limitless spiritual world as is the 
spirit of our own soul. In brief, the spirit 
of everything does exist in the spiritual 
world, and is a part of the spiritual world, 
just as a drop of water in the sea is a part 
of the sea itself, no matter where that 
particular drop may be found. 

Wherever we may turn our attention, 
therefore, if we go into the spirit of the 
thing itself, into life itself, into harmony 

[142] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

itself, into peace itself, into music itself, 
into art itself, into any quality as it is in 
itself, we shall meet the spiritual world, 
the world in which all things exist in their 
fullness — without limitations or imper- 
fections or incompleteness in any mode or 
manner. 

Realizing this important truth, we may 
learn infinitely more about the spiritual 
world if we will continue to seek for the 
real source of every quality, or expression, 
or manifestation of which we may be 
conscious. 

To illustrate: When we try to be peace- 
ful, we should turn our attention towards 
the spiritual within, and try to realize 
the great eternal calm. In like manner, 
whenever we try to be harmonious, we 
should turn attention to the spirit of 
harmony, and try to experience more and 
more of that state of harmony that is so 
wonderful that it could not possibly be 
more harmonious. Then when we think 

[143] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

of health, we should, instead of thinking 
about the body, turn attention to the 
spirit of health, which exists in the soul, 
or in the spiritual world, permeating all 
things. 

We know that the majority, when in 
search for health, think too much about 
the body, believing that health has its 
origin and expression in the body only; 
but this is not the truth. We know that 
it is well to care for the body in the best 
manner possible, to follow all the laws of 
life on the physical plane and be in perfect 
harmony with nature as manifested either 
mentally or physically; but when we 
think of real health, or go in search of 
real health, we should realize that health 
itself does not have its origin in the body. 
Real health has its origin in the spirit of 
health, and the spirit of health abides in 
the spiritual world. 

Accordingly, the more deeply we enter 
into the consciousness of the spirit of 

[144] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

health, the more perfect and more powerful 
will become the expression of health 
through the mind and body, because when 
we find the limitless source of any expres- 
sion, the expression itself will increase 
more and more as we become more deeply 
conscious of that source. 

Here we should remember the great 
law — whatever we become conscious of in 
the within, that very thing we will manifest 
in the without 

When we are in search of power we 
must realize that the source of power is 
not found in the physical world, nor even 
in the mind. The source of power is 
found in the spirit of power which exists 
in the spiritual world; and if we will 
search in that direction we will not only 
find greater and greater power, but we 
will, at the same time, develop our 
spiritual consciousness, so that we may 
become better equipped for the finding of 
the spiritual source of anything that we 

[145] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

may desire in life. This is clearly evident, 
because as we become more and more 
conscious of real power in the spiritual 
world, we will not only grow in power, 
but also grow in the consciousness of the 
spiritual world itself, which is indeed our 
purpose, whatever our external object at 
the time may happen to be. 

Our one continuous aim, therefore, in 
this study should be to find more and 
more of that wonderful something that 
exists back of, or within, or at the source 
of all things; that is, the spiritual world 
itself — not a world that we may define 
as something finer than the physical — 
not an invisible world merely, but a state 
of being existing within everything, back 
of everything, beyond everything, and 
containing the fullness of everything. 

When we consider the term "in all its 
fullness," we may well ask ourselves if we 
really appreciate its vast significance. We 
may repeat this expression "in all its 

[146] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

fullness" again and again, in our own 
mentality, trying to comprehend every- 
thing that it might imply; and the more 
we think of it, the more vast and more 
wonderful it becomes. And when we 
realize that any quality or state of being 
becomes spiritual only when it appears 
in all its fullness, we begin to understand, 
not only the real meaning of the term 
1 'spiritual," but what an immensity that 
term represents; and not only immensity, 
but degrees of perfection beyond degrees of 
perfection, going deeper and higher per- 
petually into infinity. 

When we pause to consider life in all its 
fullness, joy in all its fullness, health in all 
its fullness, harmony in all its fullness, 
power in all its fullness, wisdom in all 
its fullness — when we pause to consider 
all these things, we realize that we are 
in the presence of wonderful ideals; and 
the more deeply we enter into the con- 
sciousness of those ideals, the more closely 

[147] 



STEPS IN HUMAN PROGRESS 

we approach the spiritual world, until 
finally we enter into the full significance 
of the spiritual world. 

The pathway to the spiritual, therefore, 
is not as difficult as we have thought in 
the past, although it implies everything 
that is ideal and wonderful and marvelous. 
The moment we begin to take our spiritual 
journey upon this path we realize that we 
are in the presence of elements and possi- 
bilities that are too vast, too immense and 
too sublime for the outer mind to com- 
prehend; but we know that so long as 
we continue to search for the fullness of 
things, or to enter into the consciousness of 
the spirit of things, we are upon the 
straight and narrow path; that is, the 
path that leads directly, without wavering 
or turning, into the full consciousness of 
the spiritual. 

In consequence, we should no longer 
think of the invisible, or any phase of the 
invisible, when we are in search of the 
[148] 



STEPS TO THE SPIRITUAL 

spiritual; but should, instead, think of 
the perfect, the complete, the absolute, 
and that state in which everything exists 
in all its fullness — a state where life is so 
perfect that additional life could not be 
added; where peace is so perfect and so 
deeply calm that it is beyond all under- 
standing; where light is so brilliant that 
it could not become more brilliant; where 
harmony is so perfect that it could not 
become more harmonious; where all the 
elements of life, consciousness and being 
are so wonderful and so divinely ideal that 
they could not become more wonderful or 
more ideal — this is what it means to be 
spiritual; and as we grow into this deeper 
and finer and higher understanding of all 
things, it is then that we develop real 
spirituality. 



[149] 





















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